On December 15, 2023 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis took part in the 47th  online meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

The Deputy Minister thanked the Republic of Türkiye for its BSEC Chairmanship in the second half of 2023. He also congratulated Moldova on the European Council's decision to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and Georgia on obtaining the EU candidate status. Deputy Minister also expressed gratitude to all BSEC Member States that are also EU members for supporting these historic decisions.

Yevhen Perebyinis informed the participants in detail about the current situation caused by the Russia’s ongoing full-scale aggression against Ukraine, as well as about the damage caused by the Russian invasion both for our state and for the entire region.

In his speech, the Deputy Minister paid particular attention to the importance of the uninterrupted functioning of the Black Sea Grain Corridor and called on the BSEC countries to contribute to the safety and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.

The Deputy Minister also called on the participants of the meeting to start working on creating a mechanism for terminating the membership of the aggressor state in the BSEC due to its violation of the Organization's principles and goals.

"If we really care about the future of our organization, we cannot pretend that nothing is happening and allow Russia to destroy BSEC from the inside," - emphasized Yevhen Perebyinis.