Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva met with Managing Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and the OSCE of the European Union External Action Service Michael Siebert and Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission Katarina Mathernova; the parties discussed the preparation for the Ukraine-EU summit, which is scheduled for October 12, 2021 in Kyiv, a common aviation space and mutual recognition of digital certificates of vaccination against coronavirus.
The deputy head of the President’s Office informed the meeting participants about the preparations for the inauguration summit of the Crimean Platform, which is convened at the initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and thanked the EU for the decision to take part in the event at the highest level, the press service of the President’s Office said on Tuesday evening.
“The parties agreed to intensify efforts to provide meaningful content to the 23rd Ukraine-EU summit, which is scheduled for October 12, 2021 in Kyiv. An algorithm for further actions in the context of providing Ukraine with the second tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of 600 million euro, as well as the start of negotiations on revision of tariffs and quotas within the framework of a deep and comprehensive free trade zone,” the President’s Office said.
The parties also exchanged views on the development of the security situation in eastern Ukraine. Zhovkva informed the representatives of the European institutions about the increase in the number of Russian military units near the borders of Ukraine, despite the statements about the withdrawal of the units, they remain on alert.
“Only thanks to the unanimous and principled support of our partners, in particular the European Union, we managed to reduce tension and prevent the worst scenario,” he stressed.
For his part, Siebert noted the restrained and balanced reaction of Ukraine, which did not succumb to the provocations of the Russian side.
Maternova informed about the work of the EU member states and institutions about the possibility of further expanding support for the eastern regions of Ukraine.
The interlocutors paid special attention to the situation in the occupied Crimea, in particular regarding the militarization of the peninsula, unprecedented violations of human rights, restriction of freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait. Zhovkva called on EU representatives to extend the recently introduced global sanctions regime for persons involved in systemic violations of human rights in Crimea.
The participants in the meeting expressed their common expectations for the completion within a month of all the technical procedures necessary for the signing of the Agreement on the Common Aviation Area (CAA) before the Ukraine-EU summit. The readiness to move in the summer to the second stage of the previous assessment mission on the preparation of the Agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAAs) was noted.
In addition, the parties reaffirmed their intention to ensure mutual recognition of digital vaccination certificates, which will restore mutual travel of citizens of Ukraine and the EU.
