MFA holds iftar for soldiers, foreign diplomats and leaders of the Crimean Tatar people
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha received ambassadors of foreign states, leaders of the Crimean Tatar people and the Muslim community of Ukraine as part of iftar on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported on its official website.
"The iftar — a communal meal during the holy month of Ramadan — was attended by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Crimean Tatar leaders Mustafa Dzhemilev and Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov, Presidential Representative in Crimea Olha Kuryshko, State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience Chairman Viktor Yelensky, singer Jamala, Muslim spiritual leaders, diplomatic corps representatives, Ukrainian lawmakers and ambassadors from Azerbaijan, Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, South Africa, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as Sudan’s charge d’affaires and the UNICEF representative in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said, noting that the ministry is implementing the Ukrainian president’s initiative to hold an iftar at the state level for the second consecutive year.
"This year we meet Ramadan in even more difficult and turbulent times for the world, including the Middle East. Ukraine closely monitors developments and expresses solidarity with states and peoples facing reckless aggression by the Iranian regime," the Foreign Ministry quoted Sybiha as saying. He expressed Ukraine’s solidarity with Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The minister separately thanked Ukrainian Muslim soldiers. Event participants honored with a moment of silence the memory of defenders who gave their lives fighting for Ukraine’s independence.