President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with Prime Minister of the Italian Republic Giuseppe Conte.
The President expressed condolences over the horrific scale of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy, which claimed the lives of over three thousand Italian citizens.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Giuseppe Conte agreed on the importance of coordinating efforts to combat the spread of the pandemic and overcome the negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.
The parties also noted the importance of ensuring continuous transport support for trade between the countries, in particular the supply of food, pharmaceuticals and equipment. The parties agreed to unite efforts to unblock the Italy-Ukraine freight traffic due to restrictions imposed by a number of transit countries.
The Head of State expressed gratitude to the Italian government for its assistance in organizing the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens who were blocked at the border with Slovenia.
Separately, they discussed the issue of returning 125 Ukrainians, who are now in Rome, to Ukraine. Giuseppe Conte promised that they would arrive home by special charter flight of Italian airlines on March 25.
The President also asked about the situation of Vitalii Markiv, Ukrainian convicted in Italy, conveyed words of support to him and wished him to keep well.
Additionally, given Italy's considerable experience in combating coronavirus, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted Ukraine's interest in establishing an information exchange at the level of the healthcare services of the two countries in order to study new industry standards and recommendations implemented in Italy to combat the disease.
The parties also discussed measures to continue the highest level political dialogue and implement the agreements reached during the visit of the President of Ukraine to the Italian Republic on February 7, 2020.