During her visit to Italy, First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova held a series of events to advocate for granting Ukraine EU candidate status.

In particular, Emine Dzhaparova gave a speech at the Libera Università Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali "Guido Carli" in Rome on "Ukraine-Europe: Together". The event was attended by students and faculty of the institution, leading Italian and international experts, and representatives of the Italian media.

The First Deputy Minister informed about the Russian aggression against Ukraine and expressed gratitude to Italy for the comprehensive political, humanitarian and financial support provided to Ukraine.

Emine Dzhaparova stressed that Russia's ultimate goal is to continue the policy of the Stalinist regime, which, on the example of famines and genocides of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples, aimed at their complete conquest and further elimination.

The First Deputy Minister stressed that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine concerns not only imperial ambitions in a particular region. "We are talking about revanchism and global revisionism. And today, Ukraine is fighting for the whole civilized democratic world against the expansion of totalitarianism and autocracy. "

Emine Dzhaparova noted that the key factors that will be decisive for Ukraine's victory are the introduction of a tough sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia, continued military assistance to Ukraine, and granting our country EU candidate status.

In this regard, she noted that in the first two months of the war against Ukraine, Russia earned 63 billion euros from energy trade, about 44 billion - from the EU.

"Today, 91% of Ukrainians support the European integration of the state and I am very glad that 70% of Italians are in favor of Ukraine's membership in the EU. No other European country has paid such a high price for its European future, which is paid by millions of Ukrainian citizens today," said the First Deputy Minister.

She also reminded the audience of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's words that granting Ukraine candidate status in June this year will not be a revolution, but will be an act of recognition, as the EU needs Ukraine as much as Ukraine needs the EU.

Emine Dzhaparova also presented to the audience both the security and economic benefits of Ukraine's future EU membership and expressed gratitude for the Italian government's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and a clear signal from the Prime Minister that Italy wants to see Ukraine in the EU.

In Rome, the First Deputy Minister discussed Ukraine's European integration with Italian and foreign media at the Luigi Einaudi Foundation think tank on Italian television and during an extended meeting at the Foreign Ministry with a foreign diplomatic corps accredited in Rome. While in Italy, Emine Dzhaparova held a series of meetings on European integration on the sidelines of the 132nd Ministerial Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Turin.

Emine Dzhaparova also met with the President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights, Antonio Stango, who in 2021 at the request of the Foreign Ministry, became a public mentor of the illegally sentenced to 12 years of Crimean Tatar human rights activist, citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov.