Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva met with Managing Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and the OSCE at the European External Action Service Michael Siebert and Deputy Director General of the Directorate for European Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission Katarína Mathernová.
The parties exchanged views on the development of the security situation in eastern Ukraine. Ihor Zhovkva informed the representatives of European institutions in detail about the recent unprecedented increase in the number of Russian military units near the borders of Ukraine, which, despite statements of withdrawal, mostly remain in a state of combat readiness.
"Only thanks to the unanimous and principled support of our partners, in particular the European Union, we managed to reduce tensions and prevent the worst-case scenario," he said.
For his part, Michael Siebert noted the restrained and balanced reaction of Ukraine, which did not yield to provocations from the Russian side.
Ihor Zhovkva thanked for the European Union's continued support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, called on the EU representatives to remain vigilant about possible further actions by the Russian side in the region and to take these circumstances into account when elaborating approaches to further developing EU relations with Russia.
Katarína Mathernová informed about the work of the EU member states and institutions on 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 human rights violations, restrictions on freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait. Ihor Zhovkva called on the EU representatives to extend the recently imposed global sanctions regime to those involved in systemic human rights violations in Crimea.
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President also informed the participants in detail about the preparations for the inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform convened on the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and thanked the EU for its decision to participate in the event at the highest level.
Emphasis was also placed on key issues on the agenda of relations between Ukraine and the EU. Ukraine's progress in implementing systemic reforms was praised. Ihor Zhovkva outlined the main priorities on this path for the near future, in particular regarding the process of de-oligarchization initiated by the Head of State, as well as the reform of the civil security sector.
The parties agreed to intensify efforts to prepare for the 23rd Ukraine-EU Summit, which is scheduled for October 12, 2021 in Kyiv. An algorithm for further action was agreed in the context of providing Ukraine with the second tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of 600 million euros, as well as the start of negotiations on the revision of tariffs and quotas within the deep and comprehensive free trade area.
The participants of the meeting expressed a common expectation that all technical procedures necessary for the signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement for the Ukraine-EU Summit will be completed within a month. The readiness to move to the second stage of the work of the preliminary assessment mission as regards preparation for the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) already in the summer was noted.
At the end of the conversation, Ihor Zhovkva thanked the EU for its assistance in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular through the COVAX mechanism. The parties reaffirmed their commitment to ensure mutual recognition of digital vaccination certificates, which will allow resuming mutual travel between citizens of Ukraine and the EU.