President at the meeting with Foreign Ministers of Poland and Denmark: Nadiya Savchenko must be liberated pursuant to the Minsk agreements
02.03.2015 21:36 | Press office of President
President Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Grzegorz Schetyna and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Martin Lidegaard who are on a one-day visit to Kyiv.
The parties have discussed the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas, the implementation of reforms in Ukraine, the issue of energy security in Europe and the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga that will be held in May.
The President has informed the Ministers on the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements in the context of the items on ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weaponry, which are strictly observed by the Ukrainian party. He has emphasized the necessity to fulfill all the items of the Minsk agreements, inter alia, on the immediate and unconditional liberation of all hostages.
The President has underlined the need for immediate liberation of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko from Russian prison. "She is still on a hunger strike. Her health conditions are very poor. They keep her imprisoned without any accusations," Petro Poroshenko said.
The Head of State has stressed that the liberation of Nadiya Savchenko was a commitment under the Minsk agreements. In addition, Nadiya is a deputy of the Ukrainian Parliament and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Thus, she has a diplomatic immunity.
Also, the Head of State has urged to increase the number of the OSCE observers and provide them an ability to control the Ukrainian-Russian border.
The President has informed on the progress in reforms – judicial, anti-corruption, deregulation and in the sphere of public procurement.
In his turn, Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna has noted that the purpose of the visit was to demonstrate support from the EU and Poland particularly. He has emphasized the importance of the future Summit in Riga for the development of cooperation.
Grzegorz Schetyna has also noted the importance of implementing reforms in Ukraine, especially anti-corruption reform and reform on decentralization. "We are trying to build a favorable atmosphere around Ukraine. We keep on supporting Ukraine on its European path," the Polish Minister emphasized.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Martin Lidegaard has noted that Poland and Denmark were together in Ukraine that day, for they considered themselves one of the closest friends and supporters of Ukraine in the EU. "We are united in our policy of support towards Ukraine," he said.
According to the Minister, the purpose of their visit was to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine. "We are still standing shoulder to shoulder with you and recognize that Russia doesn"t have enough commitment to facilitate de-escalation. We are closely watching the situation," Martin Lidegaard said.
He has also emphasized that Danish investors were interested in cooperation with Ukraine and were waiting for successful reforms.
The meeting has also been attended by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Valeriy Chaly, Commissioner of the President for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, people"s deputy Iryna Gerashchenko and Representative of the EU to Ukraine Jan Tombinski.