Zelensky arrives in Brussels on his first foreign visit as president of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Brussels on a two-day visit.
The presidential plane landed at Zaventem International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. This is the first foreign visit of Zelensky after his election as president of Ukraine.
In keeping with the agenda, the first meeting will be held with Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. It will begin at 15:30 (16:30 Kyiv time) with an official handshake ceremony and photographing in the special VIP corner of the European Commission's Berlaymont building without press statements.
After that, Zelensky will visit the NATO Headquarters, where he will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, after which a joint press conference will be held at 16:45 (17:45 Kyiv time). Then, the two officials will take part in a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the ambassadorial level.
On the same day, at 18:20 (19:20 Kyiv time), the European Commission's building will host a meeting of President Zelensky with European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis, who oversees the issues of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.
It will be followed by a meeting with President of Poland Andrzej Duda. It will be held at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union. At the end of it, the presidents will make statements to the press.
On the second day, meetings are scheduled with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and President of the European Council Donald Tusk, after which a joint press conference will be given.
Commenting on the upcoming visit, presidential spokeswoman Yulia Mendel said on June 3 that the president would declare that Ukraine's course towards European and NATO integration is unchanged. He also wants to hear from the EU leaders signals of support of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and reforms.
The Ukrainian delegation includes Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Vadym Prystaiko, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
