On Monday, October 13, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha held talks in Kyiv with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, this visit marked her third since her appointment.
Andrii Sybiha expressed his gratitude to the European Union for its constant and comprehensive assistance and expressed his deep personal gratitude to Kaja Kallas for her leadership in mobilizing support for Ukraine, in particular the extremely important initiative to provide Ukraine with 2 million artillery shells.
The Foreign Minister briefed the EU's top diplomat on the situation on the battlefield and escalation of Russian terror against civilian infrastructure and the energy system.
"I shared a specific list of needs to strengthen Ukraine's resilience ahead of the winter period. We discussed in detail the methods and timing of providing the relevant equipment. This is a priority for Ukrainian diplomacy," the minister said.
The diplomats paid special attention to strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities. Andrii Sybiha stressed the importance of effective use of the SAFE instrument for the implementation of joint projects with Ukraine. The parties also discussed additional contributions from EU member states to the PURL initiative.
“Against the backdrop of numerous incidents involving Russian drones in the airspace of EU countries, the need for Ukrainian experience and technologies is growing. We are ready to share them and work together to strengthen security and air defense, and build an integrated European defense system,” the minister said.
Andrii Sybiha also said that Ukraine expects tougher sanctions against Russia's “shadow fleet,” military-industrial and financial sectors, as well as personal sanctions against those involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children and the spread of Kremlin propaganda. The goal of sanctions pressure is to restore peace, as such restrictions systematically deprive Russia of the resources to wage war.
Andrii Sybiha stressed that it is equally important to force Russia to compensate for all the damage caused. In this context, the Ukrainian side notes the progress made by its partners, regarding so-called “Reparation Credit” — a new EU financial instrument using frozen Russian assets.
The interlocutors also discussed in detail the next steps in the negotiation process on Ukraine's accession to the EU. Andrii Sybiha said that further positive developments in the negotiation process are extremely important for maintaining the pace of key reforms.
“We are looking forward to the timely and politically important decision by the European Union on the opening of Cluster 1. We have repeatedly seen how, in difficult situations, the EU has found a way to ensure unity and take the necessary decisions on strategic issues. It is time to show leadership again,” he stressed.
The minister also noted the support of the EU and personally of Kaja Kallas for the Special Tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the additional €10 million she announced today for its creation.
The head of the Foreign Ministry pointed out that strengthening support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on October 20, which the minister plans to participate at the invitation of the High Representative.