President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the head of the German government and the people of Germany for their continued comprehensive support for Ukraine, which was enshrined in the bilateral security agreement.
The leaders discussed further political, economic and defense cooperation between Ukraine and Germany.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the approval by the European Commission of the draft Negotiating Framework on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
"Ukraine has completed all four legislative steps set out by the European Commission in the Enlargement Package, which is the basis for the approval of the Negotiating Framework. Now it is up to the member states. The prompt reaction of our partners will demonstrate their commitment to Ukraine's accession to the EU," the President of Ukraine said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olaf Scholz discussed the development of defense cooperation both at the level of states and at the level of defense companies. Special attention was paid to the issue of localization of defense production in Ukraine.
The President also conveyed the priority needs of Ukrainian defenders in armored vehicles, artillery and air defense. He thanked Germany for joining the Czech Republic's efforts to purchase artillery rounds for our country.
"We know that there are similar initiatives from our other partners. They should receive the same attention and funding. This will greatly help us to defend our country," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President of Ukraine and the German Chancellor also exchanged views on the outcomes of the conference in support of Ukraine held in Paris on February 26 and coordinated positions ahead of the Weimar Triangle leaders' meeting. On Friday, Olaf Scholz will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin.
The leaders also discussed the organization of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2024) in Berlin in June.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the participation of the German representative in the efforts to prepare the Global Peace Summit.