Ukraine is forefront of struggle for democracy – Raynell Andreychuk

“Today Ukraine is the forefront of the struggle for democracy”, This is the opinion of Raynell Andreychuk, Co-Chairperson of the Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council, expressed at 10th Kyiv Security Forum held by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine.

“The countries of the Central and Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine, are located at the forefront of the struggle for democracy. This struggle began during the Maidan which Ukrainians supported for the sake of reforms of their state. They wanted to elect those who would represent their interests, those who would be responsible for their protection. And they paid a very high price for this desire. None of the Western European peoples, since the times of the Second World War, have paid such a high price”, Raynell Andreychuk stated.

The European politician also noted the significant achievements of Ukraine in course of state reforms and democracy building in the country.

“Ukraine has paved its path to democracy and its results are impressive. As regards the pace of change in Ukraine, which is being broadly debated, it should be noted that any processes are characterized by ups and downs. The path of democracy building, of course, is not a smooth road”.

But one is encouraged by the fact that Ukraine continues to move forward and has already reached some positive results on this way”, Raynell Andreychuk noted.

Raynell Andreychuk mentioned the changes in the electoral process in Ukraine as an evidence of this. “The changes in the electoral process in Ukraine are a vivid demonstration of the success of Ukrainian reforms. Since 2004, we are closely watching how Ukraine holds parliamentary elections, and I can confidently say that in this issue the changes for the better are more than obvious. The Maidan played a very important role having intensified these processes” the European diplomat stated.

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Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 is an annual international event to high-level discussions on the current issues in the Black Sea region and wider Europe. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.