Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva welcomed the opening of the Irish Embassy in Ukraine in a conversation with the Deputy Secretary of State for International and European Affairs of the Office of the Prime Minister of Ireland Helen Blake.
“The opening of the Irish diplomatic mission is a long-awaited event, which should contribute to the disclosure of significant potential of bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Ireland,” he said, according to the presidential press service.
The interlocutors exchanged information on measures to overcome the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, in particular regarding vaccination. Blake said that Ireland supports the introduction of a mechanism in the EU that will allow partner countries to gain access to the vaccine.
The parties also discussed the situation in the east of Ukraine and in the Crimea occupied by Russia. Zhovkva briefed on the security challenges facing Ukraine as a result of the recent build-up of Russian military forces along the Russian-Ukrainian state border and in the occupied territories. He thanked the Irish side for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in particular within the UN Security Council, where Ireland is a non-permanent member.
In addition, Zhovkva acquainted Blake with the initiative of the President of Ukraine “Crimean Platform” and confirmed the invitation to the Prime Minister of Ireland Micheal Martin to take part in her inaugural summit in August.
During the conversation, special attention was paid to the implementation of Ukraine’s European aspirations. Zhovkva noted that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is a strategic goal to achieve which maximum efforts are directed. The Irish side was invited to join the circle of EU states that have already recognized the European perspective of Ukraine.
Blake, for her part, confirmed that Ireland supports the further enlargement of the European Union, welcomes Ukraine’s European aspirations and is ready to continue to help in their implementation, including in the implementation of the necessary reforms.
The Irish Embassy was opened in Kyiv in June, before that there was a consulate and the Irish Ambassador in Prague worked in Ukraine part-time.
The Swiss Embassy in Ukraine recalled that seven years ago the Swiss Federal Council decided to freeze all assets of ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and his entourage in the country.
“In taking this measure, the Swiss Government wished to avoid any risk of misappropriation of Ukrainian state assets. Since then, Swiss authorities have been closely cooperating with their Ukrainian counterparts in order to complete the process of restitution of these assets to the Ukrainian people following court rulings on their illicit origin,” it said on Twitter.
The Embassy also reminded that the maximum duration of such a freeze is limited to 10 years.
The Ukrainian Embassy has opened a 24-hour hotline line to provide possible assistance to citizens of Ukraine in Indonesia, where a powerful earthquake occurred, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said.
“A powerful earthquake happened on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. To provide possible assistance to Ukrainian citizens, the Ukrainian embassy has opened a 24-hour hotline: +62 87 88 48 90 918. There is still no information about the injured Ukrainians,” Nikolenko wrote on Twitter on Friday.
The wife of Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Al-Kaabi donated over 5,000 rapid tests for coronavirus (COVID-19) infection to Kyiv.
As deputy head of Kyiv City State Administration Maryna Khonda said, these tests will be transferred to Kyiv orphanages and nursing homes for the elderly.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic did not recede. In the spring, when the phase of strict quarantine was underway, an outbreak of coronavirus was detected in Darnytsia orphanage boarding school for girls. Fortunately, everything went well, but in order to prevent such outbreaks in the future, we need to quickly and promptly identify disease and respond to cases of infection. These rapid tests will be sent to Sviatoshyn and Darnytsia orphanages, as well as to Kyiv geriatric boarding house and Kyiv boarding house of labor veterans. Thus, we will be able to control outbreaks of COVID-19 among people who are in the so-called ‘risk zone’, and not to allow further spread. I am very grateful to the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates for this assistance,” the press service of Kyiv City State Administration said.
It is noted that 724 people live in these four institutions: in orphanages 239 children with disabilities aged from seven to 35 years of various disorders, in geriatric institutions 485 people of retirement age.
The issue of moving the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is not on the agenda yet, but the possibility of opening a Ukrainian trade office in Jerusalem may be explored, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Moving the embassy is currently not on our agenda, but the possibility of a trade office in Jerusalem could be explored,” he said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.
Ukraine plans to open its embassy in Albania this year, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar said during a meeting with newly appointed Charge d’Affaires of the Republic of Albania in Ukraine Fation Peni.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA), Bodnar informed the Albanian side about Ukraine’s plans to open its embassy in Albania in 2020 “which will mark the beginning of qualitatively new stage in the history of Ukraine-Albania relations.”
Peni passed the Ukrainian side Albania’s note on the opening of the country’s diplomatic mission in Ukraine.
The parties shared opinions about the preparations for the conclusion of an underlying agreement on friendship and cooperation between Ukraine and Albania, which will become the main document determining the framework of bilateral relations.
Bodnar and Peni also praised the resumption of air traffic between Ukraine and Albania from June 26, 2020 and the selection of Ukraine International Airlines for carrying out regular flights between the capitals of the two countries.
They also discussed intensification of the countries’ high-level political dialogue.
