President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the proposal of U.S. President Joe Biden to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a third country as correct, since this dialogue could “resolve a number of issues.”
“I believe that this [Biden’s intention to meet with Putin on the territory of a third country] is correct. This is very […] timely, very important […] I think this could solve a number of issues, because there should be a dialogue between these countries. Sometimes, when such large states do not communicate, others suffer. Believe us, we understand that,” Zelensky said at a briefing following talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday.
At the same time, Zelensky said that if during the meeting the leaders of the United States and Russia raise the issue of Ukraine, which may well be relevant, then the discussion will not be “so substantive and correct.”
“It [the issue of Ukraine] will not be substantive, it will not be correct, and this will once again show that large countries are in size, they think that everything is around them, but it seems to me that the world is much larger,” the president said.
BIDEN, PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, PUTIN
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 16/04/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of April 16
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
The European Union (EU) is confident that Ukraine, as a European country, has the right to be a member of the community, but now the issue of reforms is on the agenda.
This is how a European diplomat commented on the prospects for Ukraine’s membership in the EU on Friday in Brussels. He said that what the EU has with Ukraine is the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and what the EU is seriously investing in now is to make this agreement a success. It has huge potential for the economy, for the social development of Ukraine, he said.
At the same time, the European diplomat is confident that Ukraine is a European country, and as a European country it has the opportunity of joining the EU.
But this is not what is now on the agenda, he said. Now it is about the implementation of this agreement, it is about reforms, about what precedes accession, he said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the importance of intensive development of tourism between Ukraine and Turkey.
“It is very important that we, [Erdogan] and I are talking about special conditions for Ukrainian and Turkish tourists, citizens. We talked about the need to really increase the level of tourism for Ukrainians and Turkish citizens. This is very important. I think especially now we have to support each other,” Zelensky said following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on Thursday, April 15.
“Erdogan supports our independence, our sovereignty. You heard that Russia said it would restrict tourists or tourism from the Russian Federation to Turkey. It’s their business. And I think that, on the contrary, we need to increase and show that we support Turkey,” Zelensky said.
Also, according to Zelensky, during a meeting with Erdogan in Turkey on April 10, “a number of important documents were signed between Ukraine and Turkey, but support for Ukrainian sovereignty is much more important.”
“But the most important thing today, when we talk about the geopolitical issue, the issue of peace in Ukraine and the support of our partners, it is important that President Erdogan supports Ukraine, supports our temporarily occupied territories, supports Crimea. It is important that he supports our position: he does not recognize annexation of Crimea,” the head of state said.
The Ministry of Health is awaiting the final decision of the European Union regarding immune passports and their introduction in Ukraine, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during the “Hour of Questions” to the government in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday.
“On April 13, the EU presented a draft immune passports, which, in addition to the vaccination mark, provide for a mark on the PCR testing and the amount of antibodies. This caused a heated discussion. We expect a final decision from them,” he said.
“For their part, specialists from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are working with European partners regarding the required data. We are fully prepared for any development of events, because the central component of e-Health is ready to upload data,” the minister added.
HEALTH MINISTER, HEALTH MINISTRY OF UKRAINE, IMMUNE PASSPORTS
