The meeting between the leadership and members of the Seimas and Volodymyr Rybak, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, on 6 September 2013, voiced the plans to invite Moldova to join the trilateral inter-parliamentary assembly of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.

Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, said, “The trilateral inter-parliamentary assembly of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine was established after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and after successful engagement of the Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski in the international negotiations for the settlement of the political crisis in Ukraine.”

“At that time, Lithuania, together with Poland, lent a helping hand to the democracy of Ukraine. We actively continue on the same trend with a view to Ukraine choosing a European and democratic path. However, it is very important for Lithuania that Moldova stands firm on a democratic path too. Therefore, today we also seek to include Moldova in democratic fora of parliamentary cooperation”, Mr Kirkilas assured.

The functioning of the trilateral parliamentary assembly was restored after a few years’ interval in March 2013, when the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union were presented in Warsaw.

The interparliamentary assembly was established in Lutsk, Ukraine in May 2005. It is a consultative interparliamentary body intended to discuss issues and projects of common interest. The assembly comprises parliamentary delegations from the Lithuanian Seimas, the Polish Sejm and Senate, and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, ten members each.    

Morta Vidūnaitė, Adviser to Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, tel.: +370 5 239 6278, mob. +370 612 01121, e-mail: [email protected]