EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrel has said the EU will continue to help Ukraine "in these difficult times."

Borrel made the remark on Wednesday at a press conference after the meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs, at which the Ukrainian issue was discussed. The meeting was held in the format of a video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We also discussed how best to help Ukraine during the coronavirus pandemic. Because the problems, as they were before the pandemic, remain. Our message to them is clear – we will continue to help them in these difficult times. We express our clear support to the President of Ukraine [Volodymyr] Zelensky, who took courageous steps in the area of reform and to resolve the conflict with significant progress in reform, but these efforts should be continued," Borrel said.

According to him, the ministers reiterated their support for "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including the non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea, support for the implementation of the Minsk agreements, the work of the Normandy format and the work of the OSCE."

Borrel confirmed that the first visit he will make when everything is normal will be a visit to Ukraine.

"This is what we agreed on with the Foreign Minister. […] The first thing I will do when everything returns to normal is to visit Ukraine and pay much attention to the Eastern Partnership," he said, adding that he would also visit Belarus.

Answering the question of what the EU expects from Ukraine, the High Representative said that this is the fulfillment of undertaken commitments and the implementation of well-known reforms in the field of rule of law, freedom of the media and the fight against corruption.