The XXIX meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Presidents of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland was held with the participation of Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva and Secretary of State of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Krzysztof Szczerski in the format of a video conference.
At the beginning of the meeting, the parties discussed the state of implementation of the agreements reached during the visit of Polish President Andrzej Duda to Ukraine on October 12, 2020.
The co-chairs of the Committee discussed the development of the situation as regards the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and Poland, as well as the measures taken to overcome the consequences of COVID-19.
In the context of discussing a range of security issues, Ihor Zhovkva informed his interlocutor about the aggravation of the situation in eastern Ukraine and the steps taken by the Ukrainian party for a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Krzysztof Szczerski reaffirmed the unwavering support of official Warsaw for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state within the internationally recognized borders. He also expressed readiness of the Polish OSCE chairmanship in 2022 to pay special attention to this issue. The parties agreed to develop cooperation in counteracting the spread of disinformation, in particular in view of establishing a relevant Center in Ukraine.
The interlocutors separately discussed the consequences of Russia's temporary occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. The Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine outlined the main elements of the Crimean Platform and confirmed the invitation from President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Andrzej Duda to take part in the inaugural event of the initiative on August 23, 2021.
During the discussion of energy issues, the interlocutors noted the crucial importance of ensuring energy security in Europe and coordinated joint steps to counter the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project. The implementation of joint initiatives in the energy sector, in particular on the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar to Ukraine through Polish infrastructure, was also discussed.
In the context of the discussion of Ukraine's relations with the EU and NATO, the State Secretary of the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland assured of Poland's consistent support for Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic prospects. He positively noted the results of the reforms implemented by our state in order to achieve the relevant membership criteria.
A separate item on the agenda of the meeting was the discussion of trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Poland. The parties noted that the coronavirus pandemic had little effect on trade between the two countries.
Ihor Zhovkva informed the interlocutor about the work carried out by the Ukrainian party to develop road and border infrastructure in the areas adjacent to the Ukrainian-Polish border.
"The key checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish state border are included in the nationwide Large Construction program, which means that they will be reconstructed and access roads will be completed so that our presidents can soon jointly review the results of this work," he noted.
The parties praised the resumption of expert dialogue on the issues of historical memory.
"As agreed by our presidents, we leave the issues of history to historians, as there are many other important issues on the agenda of our leaders and the Advisory Committee, which allow us to build successful cooperation and look to the future," said the Deputy Head of the President's Office.
The co-chairs of the Committee agreed on the schedule of contacts at the highest level for the current year and agreed to continue working to strengthen the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland.
Following the meeting of the Advisory Committee, a joint communiqué was approved.