On Friday, January 17, Kyiv hosted the inaugural ministerial meeting in the Ukraine–Southeast Europe format.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, had the honor of welcoming colleagues from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia, and Montenegro to the capital.
“This ministerial meeting holds great significance as it advances the Ukraine–Southeast Europe format, implements the commitments made by our leaders, and fosters deeper cooperation between our nations in pursuit of security, peace, and justice across Europe,” stated Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha.
The meeting focused on critical issues, including the strengthening of regional cooperation, bolstering Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russian aggression, and collective progress on the path toward European integration.
Over the past two years, Ukraine, in collaboration with its partners, has convened three leadership summits within the Ukraine–Southeast Europe format. Andrii Sybiha underscored that this ministerial meeting represented a logical continuation of efforts to implement the agreements reached by the leaders of the participating countries.
As a result of the discussions, the ministers adopted a joint communiqué reaffirming their unwavering support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and defense capabilities, emphasizing the necessity of restoring a just and lasting peace, and upholding the principle of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
The communiqué also called upon the international community to cease any form of support for Russia, unequivocally condemned attempts to annex Ukrainian territories, reaffirmed the importance of mutual assistance among candidate states in the process of European integration, and highlighted the necessity of providing security guarantees for Ukraine, including its prospective NATO membership.
The participants committed to furthering cooperation on the path toward the integration of Ukraine and the Western Balkans into the European Union. EU member states reiterated their readiness to share their expertise in European integration and to support the candidate countries, including Ukraine.
“All of us, the nations aspiring to join the European Union, are not competitors but rather like-minded partners working to contribute to the enhancement of Europe’s security and stability through EU enlargement,” Andrii Sybiha stated.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister expressed his profound gratitude to the participating countries for their steadfast support and solidarity with Ukraine.
An especially notable element of the meeting was the presentation of carefully selected archival diplomatic documents from the era of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. These included a letter from Pavlo Skoropadsky to the King of Bulgaria regarding the appointment of an ambassador in 1918, as well as a letter from the initiative group of the Ukrainian community in Zagreb requesting the establishment of a Consulate General in Croatia.
During the presentation, Andrii Sybiha emphasized that the friendly relations between Ukraine and the countries of Southeastern Europe are deeply rooted in shared history.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine extended its sincere appreciation to Anatolii Khromov, Chairman of the State Archival Service, and Larysa Levchenko, Director of the Central State Archive of Supreme Authorities and Government of Ukraine, for their invaluable contributions in researching and preparing the presentation materials.
For reference: The first ministerial meeting in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe format was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Tanja Fajon, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania Igli Hasani, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlić-Radman, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Josip Brkić, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro Periša Kastratović, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Dimitrovski, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Ana Tinca, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia to Ukraine Andon Sapundji, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic to Ukraine Pantelis Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, Acting Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Bulgaria in Ukraine Nikolay Nenchev.