President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium Alexander De Croo on Tuesday.

As the presidential press service said, the head of state congratulated Belgium on the start of its presidency of the Council of the European Union. The president noted the December decision of the European Council to open negotiations on Ukraine's accession and expressed hope that with the support of Belgium, our state would make significant progress in the implementation of further formal steps on this path.

The interlocutors, at the same time, noted the importance of unblocking European financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 50 billion.

Zelenskyy briefed the Prime Minister of Belgium about recent Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities and communities and emphasized the need to bolster Ukraine's air defense system.

The leaders discussed bilateral defense cooperation and coordination of European defense assistance to Ukraine.

The leaders paid special attention to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. In particular, they discussed the next meeting of national security advisors and foreign policy advisors to the heads of state in Davos, preparation of the Global Peace Summit and consolidation of international support for the Ukrainian vision of a just peace.