The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, announced that 37 people's deputies of Ukraine went on a business trip to the United States. According to him, the purpose of the trip is to strengthen cooperation with American partners, as well as systematic work with the US Congress and Senate.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, explained the stay of Ukrainian MPs in the United States and commented on the criticism voiced by President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the frequent foreign trips of parliamentarians. According to the speaker, a delegation of 37 MPs went to the United States to establish contacts with Congress and the Senate.
“Ukraine faces a very important task – to reset our relations with our strategic partners, which are the United States. And we are doing this systematically at all levels, including at the level of restoring our relations with the US Congress and Senate. That is why a large delegation – 37 people's deputies, who simultaneously represent more than half of the opposition – went there in order to systematically work with senators and congressmen to establish relations,” Stefanchuk said.
The Speaker separately emphasized that the deputies' trip was not funded by public funds.
“They went at their own expense,” he assured.
Stefanchuk also noted that the work of people's deputies is not limited to their presence in the parliament hall. According to him, deputies work in committees and also visit frontline territories.
“The Ukrainian parliament works everywhere, works always, works according to the schedule. The work of the parliament is not reduced to pressing buttons. This is work in committees, this is work in temporary investigative commissions, this is work on the diplomatic front,” he emphasized.
On the eve, President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the frequent foreign trips of MPs. In particular, he expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that a significant part of the parliament went to a prayer breakfast in the United States.
“Today we have a prayer breakfast of the United States of America. This is very important when half of the Ukrainian parliament is at a prayer breakfast. Not in Kherson, not in Kharkiv, not in Zaporizhia, not in Sumy… The issue is not in the United States – the issue is in constant business trips, not in daily hard work for the people who elected them,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.
The President also noted that he was generally satisfied with the work of the Verkhovna Rada, but emphasized that the parliament should work more systematically and regularly.
“Unfortunately, parliament does not work every day,” Zelenskyy added.
