On the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak held the fifth meeting with representatives of foreign diplomatic institutions accredited in Ukraine within the framework of implementing the Peace Formula.
The meeting with the ambassadors took place in the Club of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and concerned the points of the Formula – Energy Security and Preventing Escalation and Repetition of Aggression.
Ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic missions of Japan, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Ethiopia, Jordan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Egypt, Brazil, Canada, the Republic of Korea, India, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Finland, Azerbaijan, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, the EU, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, North Macedonia, Romania, the United States, Türkiye, Hungary, France, Montenegro, Sweden, and United Nations Resident Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown, special representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland Þórlindur Kjartansson, the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine, Bishop Mykhailo Komansky (Anishchenko) and chargé d'affaires of the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine Joseph Maramreddy attended the event in person or via video links.
Congratulating the participants of the meeting, Yermak separately thanked those who joined this format of communication for the first time, namely the representatives of 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Ecuador, Croatia, Switzerland, Guatemala, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, New Zealand and Ethiopia.
In general, according to the head of the Office of the President, representatives of 58 countries took part in the meeting, while 43 countries were represented at the previous event in the Verkhovna Rada.
"This shows we are actively moving towards an appropriate solution to ensure peace in the world," he said.
Yermak briefed foreign diplomats on the results of the second meeting at the level of national security advisors and political directors of foreign policy departments of countries and international organizations, which took place on August 5 in the city of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
The head of the President's Office talked about the philosophy of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, presented in Jeddah, noting the constant growth in striving to establish a stable and long-lasting peace in Ukraine, evidenced by the triple number of participants compared to the previous consultations in Copenhagen.
"The world community understands that the biggest conflict since the Second World War, currently ongoing in Ukraine, adversely affects all countries and that Russian aggression is a threat to the entire continent," Yermak said.
The head of the Office of the President said that the participants of the meeting in Jeddah affirmed their commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. He said the Peace Formula of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was built on such principles.
"We are working on a joint plan. Each country can take the lead in implementing either some separate or all ten points of the Formula. As far as I know, most of your countries have already determined their priorities and their role in implementing these points," Yermak said.
He also presented the authorized responsible representatives of Ukraine for each of the points of the Peace Formula, who would provide as much support to the process of their implementation.
As the head of the President's Office said, at the meeting in Jeddah, it was also agreed on the need to prepare the agenda for the Global Peace Summit, expected to be held by the end of this year.
"Today, we touched on an extremely important point of the Formula – energy security. Russia systematically uses energy as a weapon. The Kremlin began to put pressure on Europe by increasing energy prices six times since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, but Ukraine did everything to break its dependence on Russian energy, broke Russia's plans. However, the Russian Federation continues its attacks on the Ukrainian energy structure. The aggressor plans to create a humanitarian catastrophe, depriving millions of Ukrainians of access to basic resources during the winter," he said.
Yermak said that Russia, receiving imported components bypassing sanctions, is increasing the production of long-range weapons to continue destroying Ukrainian infrastructure. In particular, he recalled the recent attack by an aggressor on an oil depot in Rivne region. In this context, the head of the President's Office noted the importance of preparing the Ukrainian energy industry for the winter period and protecting it from heavy Russian attacks.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told foreign diplomats in detail about the measures Ukraine is taking to prepare for the winter period. According to him, to ensure energy security, it is planned to create a multi-level protection of energy facilities by reinforcing them and decentralizing the energy system. European and global companies can take advantage of reliable Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities, capable of storing over 30 billion cubic meters of gas, which will make it possible to calmly pass the winter period and ensure Europe's energy security in the long term. Also, constant international monitoring of the safety of energy infrastructure facilities and the creation of an international coalition for protecting energy facilities with the help of strengthening air defense should be important factors of energy security in winter. In addition, the participation of partners in the energy restoration of Ukraine is foreseen.
"We are implementing projects that no one in the world has done before, because no energy system in the world has experienced such large-scale attacks. In the future, Ukraine will be ready to share this experience so that, if necessary, other countries understand how to act in such scenarios. By the way, it is what we consider to be a very crucial element of the Peace Formula for Ukraine – a unique exchange of experience that will protect each of us and every our country," Shmyhal said.
Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko, Board Chairman of NPC Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytsky, CEO of JSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov informed those present about the current situation in the energy system of our country.
The head of the President's Office also told the audience in detail about implementing another important point of the Peace Formula, concerning security guarantees. He said that 13 states have already joined the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine agreed by the G7 countries at the NATO Summit in Vilnius.
"The declaration is a framework document. The next step is to conclude a system of bilateral and multilateral security agreements. These should be clear and long-term commitments that will ensure Ukraine's ability to defend itself today and prevent Russian aggression in the future, ensure the stability of peace not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world," he said.
According to Yermak, last week, Ukraine started negotiations on concluding a bilateral document on security guarantees with the United States and today – with the United Kingdom.
The head of the President's Office invited other countries to support the Joint Declaration and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva said that providing security guarantees to Ukraine before NATO membership would prevent a repeat of aggression from Russia. According to him, it is an important point not only for our country, but also for others, because the countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa also feel the consequences of Russian aggression.
He said that security guarantees include not only the provision of weapons, long-range artillery, air defense systems and F-16 fighters to Ukraine, but also the exchange of intelligence information, training of the Ukrainian military, countering cyberattacks, development of Ukrainian industry, strengthening of economic resilience and recovery, and bringing to justice all Russian war criminals. All this can be stipulated in bilateral agreements within the framework of the Joint Declaration.
"Twenty countries have already agreed to the Joint Declaration, we are waiting for the participation of other states to achieve a stable and just peace," Zhovkva said.
According to him, all countries supported the Joint Declaration or will join it in the future automatically become members of the working group on security guarantees. Coordinators of the working group can be representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom, which first started negotiations on the bilateral agreement.