Ukraine remains a high priority in the foreign policy of the European Union – meeting between President Poroshenko and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mogherini

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. “Ukraine remains a top priority in the EU’s foreign policy,” the President said after the meeting.

“We’ve managed to achieve a lot since the last visit of F. Mogherini in December 2014. First of all, we’ve achieved certain progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements – ceasefire regime, yet fragile and with provocative shelling, has been observed since August 29. We’ve almost completed the withdrawal of artillery, mortar launchers and tanks, which will also contribute to de-escalation,” the Head of State noted.

The President informed that in the course of the meeting, the parties had discussed political settlement of the situation, preparation of elections in the occupied territory, solution to humanitarian issues, liberation of hostages and socio-economic development of those territories.

The Head of State stressed that the key element was security and withdrawal of Russian troops. “I was pleased to hear firm position of Ms. Vice-President on sanctions that are closely related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and de-occupation of Donbas,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized.The President thanked the Vice-President of the European Commission for insisting on the necessity of full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Petro Poroshenko noted Federica Mogherini’s important role in de-escalation of the situation in the east of Ukraine.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy emphasized that it was her fourth visit to Ukraine and the second visit during the past year. “The main purpose of my visit, apart from all the topics we’ve discussed, is to demonstrate that the situation in Ukraine remains one of the top priorities in the agenda of the EU,” she said.

F. Mogherini noted progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements – the beginning of the withdrawal of armaments is a significant achievement of the OSCE Monitoring Mission, Contact Group, Foreign Ministers of the Normandy group and the entire international community involved in the process. She is hopeful that “all the undertaken commitments within the Minsk process will be fulfilled under the Ukrainian legislation and international standards that should be observed both in security and political context”. At the same time, she emphasized the necessity of access to the occupied territories for the OSCE Monitoring Mission and humanitarian organizations.

The parties also discussed the issue of Crimea. In the course of the visit, F. Mogherini has also met with Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev.

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