The Secretary of national security and defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov held a meeting with the Secretary of state for defence of great Britain Michael Fallon. This reports the press service of the NSDC.
During the meeting the interlocutors discussed the current situation in the East of Ukraine and the attempts of Russian Federation to increase its influence on the world stage for destabilization of the situation in Ukraine and the middle East.
Special attention was paid to discussions on the reform of the security sector and defense of Ukraine in accordance with NATO standards and to deepen the Ukrainian-British cooperation in military-technical sphere.
According to Turchynov, the blocking of the supply of lethal weapons in Ukraine or technologies for their production “we believe a strategic mistake.”
“From the Ukrainian defense potential depends on the security of Europe,” he said, adding that the Kingdom has always supported our country, “for which we are grateful, but we believe that the time has come when our cooperation must rise to a higher level.”
The NSDC Secretary stressed that the situation in the world requires a consistent and firm position “on counter-terrorism and military aggression, without which it is impossible to restore the system of collective security”.
In turn, the state Secretary stressed that the UK is interested in increasing aid to Ukraine: “We hope to consistently increase aid and to increase the level of military-technical cooperation.”
Fallon also assured that the UK position on sanctions on the state-aggressor remains unchanged.
“Sanctions against Russia are necessary for full implementation of the Minsk agreements”, – he stressed, adding that “the conflict in Ukraine remains in a zone of our attention, and the UK will continue to support your country on its democratic path.”
Photo: Twitter / UKinUkraine
Recall that in late 2016, the national security Council and defense (NSDC) of Ukraine has imposed additional sanctions against individuals and legal entities of the Russian Federation.
In particular, the sanctions against individuals who illegally elected in the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the results of the so-called “elections” held by the occupation authorities in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, members of the so-called “electoral commissions”, of Ukrainian companies in Crimea, which was illegally re-registered under Russian law. Sanctions are also imposed against officers of Russian law enforcement organs and vessels involved in illegal keeping of the Ukrainian citizens in Russia.
