In dealing with the situation in eastern Ukraine, solving issues of security should take priority over solving political ones, Ukraine's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Leonid Kuchma said at a meeting with a European External action Service (EEAS) delegation on Wednesday.

"Particular focus was on the Minsk [negotiation] process. Leonid Kuchma stressed that resolution of security issues – in other words total ceasefire, removal of foreign armed groups and military hardware from Ukraine, and Ukraine regaining control over its border with Russia – should take priority. Only after that will be it possible to proceed to the political bloc," Kuchma's press secretary Darka Olifer wrote on Facebook.

The delegation was led by EEAS Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Jean-Christophe Belliard. The talks also involved EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas and head of the European Commission's Support Group for Ukraine Peter Wagner, Olifer said.

Belliard reaffirmed full EU support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Olifer said.

It was reported earlier that in June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky re-appointed Kuchma as head of the country's delegation in the TCG, which mediates the Donbas conflict. Kuchma represented Ukraine in the TCG in 2014-2018.