President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Heiko Maas.
The Ukrainian Head of State noted that the visit of Heiko Maas to Ukraine on Independence Day is a symbolic evidence of special relations between Kyiv and Berlin.
"I am grateful that on such an important day for Ukraine - Independence Day - we have guests of such a high level," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President of Ukraine informed Heiko Maas of the security situation in Donbas and expressed gratitude for Germany's consistent support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our state.
"We are grateful to you personally, we are grateful to your ambassador, and we would especially like to thank Chancellor Angela Merkel for her continued support. She always supports us on all the priority issues we have: the issue of the war in the east, the issue of Crimea, the issue of our territorial integrity and sovereignty," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President paid special attention to the progress in the establishment of peace in eastern Ukraine and other steps that bring the next meeting of the "Normandy Four" at the level of heads of state closer.
"For us to be able to hold a meeting in the Normandy format as soon as possible - to prepare everything and really move forward. Now there is a feeling that the teams are working well. For 29 days there have been no combat losses or injuries. I believe that this is our great common victory," the Head of State said.
For his part, Heiko Maas assured that Germany would continue to make every effort to succeed in the peace process. He expressed hope that the meeting of foreign ministers of the Normandy format, scheduled for September 2020, would give additional impetus to the implementation of the decisions of the Paris summit of the "Normandy Four".
"Ukraine supports the German position that the summit of leaders should take place at the end of September," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
In addition, the interlocutors noted the closeness of the positions of the two countries on the events in the Republic of Belarus. The President of Ukraine expressed support for the efforts of Germany and France to promote the idea of EU mediation in order to resolve the situation in this country.
Due to the threat of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Heiko Maas also agreed on the need to deepen cooperation in the fight against the disease. The President of Ukraine thanked the Government of Germany for the recent decision to provide Ukraine with 18 ventilators.
Heiko Maas reaffirmed Germany's support for Ukraine's course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration. At the same time, he agreed with the need to maintain the EU sanctions policy against Russia until the reasons for its introduction - the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the war in Donbas - are eliminated.
The parties noted the mutual willingness to cooperate in connection with the granting of the status of NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner to Ukraine.