Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov congratulated Igor Grosu on his election to the post of head of the Parliament of Moldova.
“Today, during a phone conversation, congratulated Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova Igor Grosu on his election to office. The victory of pro-European forces in the elections in Moldova opens up opportunities to intensify relations with Ukraine. We are interested in deepening cooperation with our neighbor,” Razumkov said on Twitter on Monday.
On Thursday, June 24, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, together with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Davide Zalkaliani and acting Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova Aureliu Ciocoi will visit the EU institutions in Brussels for the first time with a joint visit in the format of the Associated Trio, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported.
According to the press service of the Foreign Ministry, in the information released Wednesday morning, the heads of the Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan diplomacy will present to the European Union a joint strategic vision of the further development of the trilateral format of the Associated Trio.
The key topics of the talks will be the European integration of the three countries, the possibility of further liberalization of trade relations, new promising areas of sectoral cooperation with the EU, in particular in the context of the implementation of the European Green Deal and the digital transition.
The parties will also coordinate their positions on security threats in the region and exchange views on preparations for the Eastern Partnership summit in December 2021.
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova signed a memorandum on the establishment of the Associated Trio in Kyiv on May 17, 2021. The document underlines the European aspirations of the three associated partners of the EU and their ambitions to become members of the European Union. The Associated Trio is a trilateral format in which Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova coordinate their efforts towards European integration.
Ukraine has successfully evacuated from the Gaza Strip 109 citizens of Ukraine, 13 citizens of Moldova and four citizens of Bulgaria, they are in Cairo and will soon fly to Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“The Gaza Strip. We have successfully evacuated 109 citizens of Ukraine, 13 citizens of Moldova and four citizens of Bulgaria. They are already safe in Cairo and will soon fly to Kyiv. Ukraine and Egypt have made great efforts to ensure the security corridor. The operation was postponed twice, but we made it,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
He said that Ukraine was one of the first to successfully complete an international humanitarian mission to evacuate citizens of the three countries from Gaza.
“We never abandon our citizens and help our partners. I am grateful to Egypt and the entire Ukrainian diplomatic team for successful cooperation,” the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, Dmytro Kuleba, David Zalkaliani and Aureliu Ciocoi, have signed a trilateral memorandum on the start of enhanced cooperation on European integration “Associated Trio.”
“The associated trio is our message that there is no alternative to European integration for our three partner countries, and there is no alternative also for Europe, because they must perceive our three countries as a serious project to ensure peace and prosperity in Europe,” Kuleba said in his statement for the media following the signing of the memorandum in Kyiv on Monday.
During the Ukrainian-Moldovan political consultations, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova Dumitru Sokolan discussed the status of implementation of the agreements reached during the visit of President of Moldova Maia Sandu to Kyiv in January 2021.
“The parties ‘synchronized watches’ regarding the nearest political contacts at the highest and high levels. Vasyl Bodnar informed about the preparations for the inaugural summit of the Crimean platform and the celebrations on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the restoration of Ukraine’s independence on August 23-24,” the statement on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website said on Thursday, March 25.
It is reported that considerable attention was paid to the implementation of cross-border infrastructure projects, primarily the construction of a bridge across the river Dniester in the area of Yampil-Koseuts settlements, the parties positively noted the progress in this case.
“Bodnar and Sokolan emphasized the importance of an early resumption of negotiations between the authorized authorities in order to resolve the entire range of issues related to the functioning of the Dniester hydroelectric complex, as well as to complete the process of demarcation of the Ukrainian-Moldovan border,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The parties checked their positions on expanding the legal framework between the two states in various fields.
A separate topic of the consultations was regional security issues, in particular the threats associated with the presence of Russian military units in the Transnistrian region of Moldova.
The Deputy Minister said that Ukraine is determined to continue supporting territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova within the internationally recognized borders, as well as to be an active participant in the negotiation process on the Transnistrian settlement.
“We regard the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the Transnistrian region of Moldova as a matter of national and regional security,” the ministry’s press service quoted Bodnar as saying.
The parties discussed steps to strengthen bilateral trade and economic cooperation and implement energy projects.
In addition, it is reported that in context of humanitarian cooperation development, Bodnar asked to accelerate the ratification by the Moldovan side of the agreement signed on December 17, 2009 between Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova on cooperation in ensuring the rights of persons belonging to national minorities (Ukraine ratified it on October 5, 2010).
The parties discussed ways to deepen cooperation with the EU in context of implementation of the two countries’ course towards European integration. The diplomats also exchanged views on the efforts of the governments of Ukraine and Moldova to counter the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Ukraine will finance the construction of a bridge across the Dniester River, which will become part of a new highway connecting Kyiv and Chisinau, said Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“One of the projects that we will start immediately will be the construction of a bridge across the Dniester River in the Yampil-Kosuets region, and a corresponding highway that will connect Kyiv and Chisinau. And not just connect, but will allow almost to get by car from Kyiv to Chisinau across the new bridge in five hours. Funding for the construction of this bridge will be carried out at the expense of the state budget of Ukraine. I note that the construction of the entire bridge is carried out at the expense of Ukraine,” said Zhovkva in an interview with TSN, published on Monday.
According to him, Ukravtodor is already working on the appropriate regulatory framework for this funding.
“Also, Ukraine will complete a part of the highway from Kyiv directly to the bridge. Most of it has already been built, restored or reconstructed … Moldova, for its part, will complete its own part of this highway. And, again, they have already built a part of this road. Therefore, this is an absolutely realistic project with realistic financing. The only thing left to do is to complete it. The Ukrainian and Moldovan sides have received the corresponding instructions from the two presidents,” Zhovkva said
