Ukraine requires a certain type of tanks that can be quickly re-equipped, and the member states have those tanks, so the EU should provide them, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said in an interview for a group of journalists from Romania, Poland and Lithuania.
She said that after what happened on Monday, namely the Russian shelling of several cities following the attack on the bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, Ukraine added to its list requests for air defense systems, and that is now being discussed, Agerpres informs.
Asked about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's statement that Russia is willing to negotiate but has not received any proposal to do so, Metsola said: For me, a negotiation is one that brings peace and is not forced by blackmail.
Regarding the fears of the outbreak of a third world war, Roberta Metsola said that under no circumstances do I want to see calls to calm us down, adding that we must ensure that Ukraine wins the war. This is our ultimate goal and it must be our ultimate goal, Metsola added.
She acknowledged that she is aware that not all EU states are on the same footing in terms of position vis-ŕ-vis Russia.
Metsola also said that populist and extremist rhetoric is on the rise everywhere and that Russian propaganda has often come to the forefront, while EU states do not have enough tools to counter it.