President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy received credentials from the Apostolic Nuncio, Ambassadors of the State of Israel and the Republic of Latvia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated the newly appointed Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ukraine Michael Brodsky and stressed the importance of further development of mutually beneficial, fruitful interstate cooperation.
During the conversation, the parties also touched upon the issue of the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, in particular the participation of the Israeli delegation led by President Isaac Herzog in the commemorative events next week.
"We highly appreciate the fact that Isaac Herzog's first state visit as President will take place in Ukraine. This is evidence of the special nature of the relations between our countries and peoples," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
The President of Ukraine announced the adoption of the Law "On Prevention and Counteraction to Anti-Semitism in Ukraine" by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on September 22.
The President raised the issue of the need for Israel to properly assess the Holodomor of 1932-1933.
"The time has come for the Knesset of the State of Israel to support the recognition of the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
The parties discussed the importance of developing cooperation in a number of promising areas where innovative technologies and best practices of Israeli companies can be used. In particular, they discussed agriculture and the involvement of Israel in a national project to create new and modernize existing irrigation systems in the southern regions of Ukraine.
For his part, the Israeli Ambassador reaffirmed his commitment to work in these areas, and also expressed the Israeli side's interest in participating in the implementation of presidential infrastructure projects in Ukraine, in particular in the framework of the Large Construction program and the Presidential University project.
In a conversation with the Apostolic Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Head of State stressed that Ukraine appreciates the bilateral dialogue with the Holy See, which is developing and deepening.
"We have a special relationship with the Holy See. We are grateful to the Pope for his continued support in speeches, prayers, mentions of Ukraine and the difficult situation of people in the temporarily occupied territories. We appreciate it," the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Ukraine could be a particularly important event in the context of strengthening relations with the Holy See. The President reminded that this year Ukraine celebrated the 20th anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II, and we are looking forward to a new apostolic visit to our country.
For his part, the Apostolic Nuncio thanked the President of Ukraine for evacuating 18 students and members of their families from Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy touched upon the issue of the beatification of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, long-awaited by the Ukrainian people.
Greeting Ambassador of Latvia Ilgvars Klava, the President noted the friendly nature of cooperation between the states at the bilateral level, as well as within international organizations.
An exchange of views on the preparation of future bilateral political contacts at the highest level took place, and key priorities of Ukrainian-Latvian relations were discussed. The newly appointed Ambassador confirmed the readiness of the President of Latvia to pay a visit to Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Latvia was among the first countries to support the founding summit of the Crimea Platform this year.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia announced the intentions of official Riga to continue to participate in the development of this important mechanism of deoccupation of Crimea, in particular by holding thematic events on international platforms.
The President of Ukraine thanked the Latvian party for the assistance provided in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.