Shareholder of Motor Sich PJSC, Chinese Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Co. considers the sanctions imposed by Ukraine against Skyrizon and related persons for three years to be unreasonable and calls them the main goal of preventing investments in Motor Sich.
Skyrizon, as a shareholder of Motor Sich, will be unlawfully deprived of its legal rights, obligations and commitments, and the company will also be forced to interrupt the generally accepted business relationship with the Ukrainian Motor Sich company, which will entail huge irreversible losses, the company said in a statement on the website, created to attempt to hold a meeting of shareholders of PJSC on January 31, which turned out to be unsuccessful.
Skyrizon also believes that such actions by Ukraine coincide with the goal of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which on January 14 this year put Skyrizon on the Military End-User (MEU) List.
The state of Ukraine rejected the results of the previous negotiations and completely ruled out any possibility of reconciliation between the two sides, the company said.
Skyrizon said that, starting in July 2017, it began negotiations with the state of Ukraine in the hope of “settling misunderstandings and amicably resolving the investment dispute,” but on December 9, 2020, it began international investment arbitration against Ukraine and has already received an official response. “The parties are negotiating and plan to participate in the arbitration process,” the company said.
The Chinese company also said that on January 13, it succeeded in challenging the refusal of an investigator from the State Bureau of Investigation to recognize Skyrizon as an injured party in the Pechersky District Court on January 13 in the case initiated early November last year on its complaint against the SBU.
According to the company, such actions on the part of Ukraine may scare off other potential investors and worsen the situation in the aircraft industry.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 01/02/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of February 1
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Ukraine is open to negotiations on trade liberalization with Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Deputy Minister of Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka has said.
“We have a free trade area with part of the region’s countries through the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. We have bilateral free trade area agreements with North Macedonia and Montenegro. And we are always open to talks about trade liberalization with Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania,” the trade representative wrote on Facebook.
French President Emmanuel Macron may visit Ukraine by the end of the first half of the year, said French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins.
“We do not have a date at the moment because of the pandemic. President Macron does not travel at the moment. He did not leave France since mid-December now. His last visit was to Brussels, not a bilateral one and not very far. I want to be very prudent, but my expectation is that this visit could occur by the end of the first semester,” the ambassador said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
De Poncins pointed out that there is a great need for this visit, since the last French president who officially visit Ukraine was Jacques Chirac in 1998.
“The principle of a visit is agreed, for as I have said there is a very good relationship between the two presidents and President Macron is very keen to come. President Zelenskyy confirmed several times the invitation. There is a lack of visits at the highest level between our two countries. The last French President who officially visited Ukraine was Jacques Chirac, in 1998. It was a very long time ago. Therefore, there’s a need for it. And there is a lot of substance for such a high level visit,” he stressed.
The ambassador noted that the visit will focus on bilateral programs, as well as the political dimension.
“About the substance, there will be a lot to focus on. There are some very important bilateral programs: helicopters, patrol boats, locomotives, water plant facilities in Mariupol. We have some other projects in Luhansk area. This is just for economy. The cultural, scientific, university and linguistic part is a big one too. I can tell you that if President Macron comes, he will be overloaded with projects and programs. Political dimension will obviously also be at the core of a presidential visit,” de Poncins said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez discussed areas of cooperation between the countries, including energy, infrastructure, digitalization and cybersecurity.
“Energy, infrastructure, digitalization, cybersecurity – there are many areas in Ukraine for cooperation with Spain. I am glad to speak with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, our mutual understanding is a step towards warm and effective relations between the two countries. I wish you health! I will be glad to see you in Ukraine!” Zelensky wrote on his Twitter page.
The interlocutors noted the importance of holding the fourth meeting of the Ukrainian-Spanish Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Industrial Cooperation this year in Kyiv, the presidential press service reported.
The leaders also discussed the development of trade and economic cooperation between the two states.
“Spain is one of Ukraine’s main trading partners in the European Union and maintains its position as Europe’s largest importer of Ukrainian grain. We are ready to continue being a reliable strategic supplier of grain products to Spain,” the Ukrainian President said.
The Spanish Prime Minister said that he would assist Ukraine in obtaining the vaccine both at the level of bilateral relations and at the EU level.
In addition, particular attention was paid to the signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union with Ukraine. “I am grateful to the Spanish party for its efforts and willingness to facilitate the signing of this long-awaited and mutually beneficial agreement. I expect a positive decision from the EU in the coming weeks,” Zelensky said.
