President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, who is on a visit to our country.
The Head of State noted that he was especially pleased to welcome the Prime Minister of Norway to Kyiv on Independence Day of Ukraine.
“We really appreciate all the Norwegian people who have been with Ukraine since the first day of full-scale Russian aggression. And every day during this war, we felt that Norway really wants to help Ukraine and restore peace. Norwegian support has helped save thousands of lives,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, addressing Jonas Gahr Støre during a joint meeting with media representatives following the talks in Kyiv.
The President emphasized the five-year Norwegian program of long-term support for Ukraine. On Thursday, during the negotiations, the parties considered the next steps in defense cooperation.
“Norway effectively supports our aviation coalition and has prepared respective decisions. I think Mr. Prime Minister will tell about it himself. This is the best news for Independence Day. There is a new defense package that will strengthen air defense and there is also another very important defense equipment,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to the Head of State, Norway has also actively joined global efforts to implement the Peace Formula.
“We would welcome one of the rounds of negotiations on the Peace Formula in Oslo. I am grateful to Norway for its support in the preparation of the Global Peace Summit,” the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Norway to start negotiations on a bilateral document on security guarantees for Ukraine in the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration.
“I am confident that Norway’s participation in such security architecture will help us bring more stability to the entire space from Scandinavia to the Black Sea,” the Head of State emphasized.
Jonas Gahr Støre said that Norway is transferring IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine and has also decided to transfer F-16 jets in its service. Norway is also providing two F-16 jets for the training mission of Ukrainian pilots.
In addition, he said, Norway is transferring demining equipment to Ukraine and will do everything necessary to convince partners to provide NASAMS to our country.
The Norwegian Prime Minister said that his country would continue to support Ukraine in rebuilding its energy infrastructure and in storing gas for the winter period.
Answering journalists’ questions, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that three countries have already agreed to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets after the training of pilots.
“These are Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. We are extremely grateful to all three countries, and we are also very grateful to the United States of America. Their goodwill and their technology. They have approved it. We are grateful to the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress,” the Head of State emphasized.
Source – President of Ukraine