13:06 02.01.2021

Strengthening intl support for Ukraine is top priority for diplomats in 2021 - Zhovkva

2 min read
Strengthening intl support for Ukraine is top priority for diplomats in 2021 - Zhovkva

Maintaining and strengthening international support for Ukraine is the number one priority for the diplomatic team of Ukraine in 2021, Ihor Zhovkva, the deputy head of the President's Office of Ukraine, the diplomatic advisor to the president of Ukraine, has said.

In the article "Foreign Policy Priorities of Ukraine in 2021," published in the ZN.UA, the official explained that the key goals that determine the priorities for foreign policy will be "peace in the de-occupied Donbas, Crimea within our state, Ukraine as an active international player."

"Through the development of active bilateral cooperation with the strategic partners - the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Poland, Lithuania, Azerbaijan - we will work to ensure that Ukraine always has in its arsenal enough external tools and means to confidently overcome world challenges," the article says.

Ukraine also poses a number of important tasks in a bilateral dialogue with the key partners.

The article notes that the newly elected President of Moldova Maia Sandu plans to pay an official visit to Ukraine on January 12, 2021, and French President Emmanuel Macron in the first half of the year.

Zhovkva also named the main tasks in relations with the EU and NATO.

"Among the most important tasks in relations with the EU for 2021 is the start of consultations on updating the Association Agreement, as well as the signing of an agreement on the common aviation area in early 2021. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, the EC expert mission will be able to provide its conclusions on Ukraine's readiness to sign an "industrial visa-free" agreement, and we will begin to implement the relevant recommendations. Based on the results, we should begin formal negotiations on the conclusion of this agreement. In 2021, we also intend to start a substantive dialogue with the EU on involving Ukraine in the implementation of the European Green Deal," the article says.

In the sphere of relations with NATO, Ukraine sets the task of making the most of the status of a NATO partner with expanded capabilities to bring Ukraine closer to membership in the alliance.

"We are waiting for the partners' reaction to the proposals on this matter, which the president made to the NATO Secretary General," Zhovkva explained.

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