On October 13, 2023, Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Maksym Subkh met with the heads of diplomatic missions of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, and Sudan to Ukraine. The meeting took place at the request of a group of Arab ambassadors accredited in Ukraine to inform about the results of an emergency Arab League meeting at the foreign ministerial level, which took place in Cairo, Egypt, on October 11, 2023, and was dedicated to discussing the situation in the Gaza Strip following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Maksym Subkh emphasized that Ukraine, as a country that daily confronts Russian terrorism threatening civilian lives, strongly condemns the brutal attack of the HAMAS armed groups on Israel. He called for the accountability of all those who incited and assisted in organizing the attack. The Ukrainian diplomat drew the participants’ attention to official statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President of Ukraine, which emphasize the support for the right of Israel to self-defence. At the same time, he expressed a profound concern about the continuous increase in the number of dead and injured civilians due to the ongoing conflict.

The Special Representative stressed that Ukraine consistently supports the Middle East Peace Process and the implementation of the principle of two states, where Israel and Palestine coexist in peace and security. The Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement can only be achieved through political dialogue based on the parties’ unconditional implementation of relevant UN resolutions.

The Ukrainian diplomat also spoke about Ukraine’s ongoing liberation from Russian invaders to the full de-occupation of its sovereign territory within internationally recognized borders. He called on the Arab countries to actively participate in implementing the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

Maksym Subkh highlighted the importance of restoring the unhindered operation of the Black Sea grain corridor for exporting Ukrainian grains to African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries. He also urged the governments of the countries present at the meeting to apply political pressure on the aggressor state to unblock the supply of Ukrainian grains to the world’s most needy countries.