Ukraine will intensify cooperation with the Visegrád Four, which includes Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. This was agreed during a meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš.
“Under the Czech presidency of the Visegrád Four, we have agreed to intensify interaction between Ukraine and this group. I am convinced that the experience of integration of these countries into the EU will be very useful for us,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a press conference following the negotiations.
The Head of State noted that Ukraine and the Czech Republic were resuming political dialogue at the highest and intergovernmental levels.
“Since 2008, this has been the first visit of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic at such a level. When we talk about the reboot (mutual - ed.), this is the willingness to meet and negotiate. This visit and our meeting already indicate that we are moving to a new level of relations between our countries,” he stressed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the negotiations broad, substantive and intense, which testifies to the depth of the potential of cooperation between the states.
During his meeting with Andrej Babiš, the Head of State spoke about the efforts aimed to end the war in Donbas, regain control over all Ukrainian territories, as well as about the preparation to the meeting in the Normandy format.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Czech Government for its financial assistance in entrepreneurship development projects, strengthening civil society in our country and reforming higher education. The President also thanked for the support of higher education institutions relocated from the temporarily occupied territories. Namely, the Donbas National Academy of Engineering and Architecture, Taras Shevchenko National University of Luhansk and the Institute of Foreign Languages of Horlivka.
For his part, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš invited Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend a meeting of the Visegrád Four in Prague.
“We spoke with Mr. President that V4 has its weight, its voice within the EU. We are active. And we would be very grateful if Mr. President visited us in Prague during our presidency in V4,” he said.
In addition, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic declared support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty within the internationally recognized borders.
Andrej Babiš is hopeful that the expected meeting in the Normandy format will bring results.
