President of Ukraine

Andriy Yermak met with G7 and EU ambassadors and urged them to support Ukraine in its efforts to return to the ceasefire in Donbas

22 March 2021 - 19:34

Andriy Yermak met with G7 and EU ambassadors and urged them to support Ukraine in its efforts to return to the ceasefire in Donbas

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a meeting with the Ambassadors of the G7 and the European Union to Ukraine, which took place in the format of a video conference.

The key focus of the meeting was on the security situation in Donbas and peace talks. Andriy Yermak informed the ambassadors about the results of the video conference of the political advisers to the leaders of the "Normandy Four", which took place on March 18.

Despite Ukraine's active efforts to restore the ceasefire regime of July 27, 2020, the Russian party did not support Ukrainian initiatives and refused to hold an extraordinary meeting of the working group on security issues of the Trilateral Contact Group proposed by the Ukrainian party. The Head of the Office of the President thanked the representatives of France and Germany for their constructive position.

"The establishment and strict observance of a sustainable and comprehensive ceasefire is a guarantee of the implementation of all important agreements reached by the leaders of the Normandy format, and a key point of the Minsk agreements. Therefore, first of all, a ceasefire should be provided," he said.

According to Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian party is ready at any time to hold further discussions in any format to make concrete decisions and return to an unconditional ceasefire, and then move on towards peace in Donbas.

He informed the ambassadors about the establishment of the Center for Countering Disinformation in Ukraine, which will soon start working on the basis of the National Security and Defense Council.

The establishment of the Center will be the first step in the implementation of the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to establish the headquarters of the International Office to Counter Disinformation and Propaganda in Kyiv.

Andriy Yermak expressed hope for continued active cooperation with the G7 countries, as well as Ukraine's partners in the EU and NATO in combating disinformation and propaganda.

Commenting on the incidents that took place during the mass rally near the Office of the President on March 20, he assured that the position of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains unchanged - all citizens of Ukraine have an unimpeded right to peaceful rallies, but what happened is not a peaceful protest.

"People who came to Bankova Street were willing to provoke a conflict. What happened on Saturday is absolutely unacceptable for a democratic state that is at war and has won its right to freedom and independence at a very high price," he said.

Andriy Yermak also informed the ambassadors of the G7 and the EU about the situation with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently difficult, as in many countries around the world, but remains under control. He said that about 112,000 people have already been vaccinated in Ukraine.

"Vaccination is extremely important, so we are doing everything to ensure that Ukrainians have an opportunity to receive the necessary vaccinations," said the Head of the President's Office.