Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine held a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne of Canada.

Dmytro Kuleba told his Canadian counterpart that the Verkhovna Rada had passed laws necessary for the continued cooperation of Ukraine with the International Monetary Fund. He asked Mr Champagne to support Ukraine in this international organization. François-Philippe Champagne appraised Ukraine’s legislative efforts to ensure its collaboration with the IMF and affirmed Canada’s full support.

The parties also exchanged their experience in protecting citizens abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Kuleba explained about the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s program ‘Zakhyst’ (Protection) launched to help Ukrainians stranded abroad due to the protective measures.

“Our coordination provides a good example of how countries should cooperate in a crisis. Canada shows the world how to act effectively during the pandemic”, said Mr Kuleba.

The ministers also set out further steps in investigating the catastrophe of Ukrainian Flight PS752 scheduled from Iran to Kyiv.

Dmytro Kuleba discussed with his Canadian counterpart collaboration in security matters, including issues related to countering the ongoing aggression of Russia against Ukraine. He pointed out Russia’s recent efforts to ease sanctions under the 'humanitarian' pretext of fighting COVID-19 and stressed that the current sanctions against Russia must stay.