Oleksandr Turchynov held a meeting with the President Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

On April 14 during his visit to Poland Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov met with the President of Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda.

Oleksandr Turchynov expressed his condolences to Polish people in connection with the anniversary of the tragedy near Smolensk, during which Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and 95 members of the Polish delegation died, when they flew to commemorate the anniversary of the Katyn crime.

NSDC Secretary also noted that his visit began on the day when 1050 years since the baptism of Poland is being marked. "Christian faith is an important factor of cohesion of our people", - he said, having thanked the Polish party for their assistance in the treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers-participants of ATO.

During the meeting the interlocutors discussed the issues of intensification of Ukrainian-Polish relations and strategic partnership between the two countries. In this context, Oleksandr Turchynov thanked Andrzej Duda for the invitation of the President of Ukraine to participate in the NATO summit to be held this July in Warsaw.

NSDC Secretary stressed that Euro-Atlantic integration is a strategic objective for us and therefore the important thing is that before the summit a meeting of the working group Ukraine-NATO will be held, where in particular, the presentation of the State Program on the development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine till 2020" is planned to take place.

Oleksandr Turchynov addressed the President of Poland with a request to support the EU decision regarding granting Ukraine visa-free regime and informed about the formation of a new Government and electing a new leadership of the Parliament of our state. "The program of the new Government, supported by the Parliament, is yet another confirmation of the continuation of the European integration course of Ukraine and of that path of reforms, which has begun after the Revolution of Dignity", - he informed.

In his turn, Andrzej Duda stressed during the meeting that "Poland was and still is the ally of Ukraine". "We consistently condemn the Russian aggression and support the continuation of sanctions against Russia until the complete liberation of the occupied territories", - President of Poland stated.

In this context, NSDC Secretary emphasized the importance of continuation of sanctions against Russia, imposed by the European Union. "Any easing of sanctions will indicate the legalization of Russian aggression and the recognition by the international community of the forceful change of borders, established after World War II. This will determinately destroy the system of collective security in Europe, which needs serious reforming and filling with the real content" - Oleksandr Turchynov concluded.