President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Council of Europe's European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), who is on a working visit to Ukraine.
The Head of State noted the high level of cooperation with the Venice Commission and the advisory assistance it provides to our country in implementing key reforms.
"I am grateful to you and the Venice Commission for the continued support for Ukraine in building an anticorruption system and reforming the judiciary," he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy briefed Gianni Buquicchio on the latest legislative steps to ensure the rule of law in Ukraine, including reforming the judiciary, constitutional justice and overcoming corruption.
The President noted the assistance of the Venice Commission during the crisis of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and spoke about the efforts aimed at holding transparent and open competitions for positions in the Constitutional Court and judicial bodies - with the involvement of international experts.
"I am convinced that through joint efforts we will be able to achieve the main goal - to return to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine the role of an independent and impartial arbiter in Ukraine guided by the rule of law, where constitutional bodies make decisions exclusively within their legal powers and responsibilities," he said.
The President noted the important role of the conclusions of the Venice Commission on the illegitimacy of the so-called "Crimean referendum" in 2014 and incompatibility with international law of "inclusion" of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol in the Russian Federation. According to him, the principled position of the commission became an important element during the formation in 2014 of the international policy of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stressed the importance of the Crimean Platform initiative and the consolidation of the international community's efforts for the full deoccupation of Crimea.
For his part, Gianni Buquicchio praised Volodymyr Zelenskyy's vision of Ukraine's European future and his desire to build an even more democratic and transparent state.