We believe that our next meeting will be held in Yalta - President
During his speech at the 15th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting, President Petro Poroshenko expressed conviction that the forum will return to its original venue - Yalta, Ukrainian Crimea.
"Thank you for the fact that we continue the tradition we established at the last Yalta conference - we believe that our meeting next year will be held in Yalta … We must be optimistic," the Head of State said.
Petro Poroshenko reminded that the theme of the first meeting in Yalta 15 years ago was "New borders of the European Union". "Then, in 2004, the European Union has just accepted ten members ... eight of which are the countries of the former Soviet bloc. And at that moment, the enlargement of NATO, which was joined by the peoples of the Baltics, the peoples of Central Europe, has already taken place," the President said.
"We, Ukrainians, did not take advantage of the opportunity window, unfortunately. Instead, we received an alarm call from Tuzla. Received, but have not heard. Have not heard with all the negative consequences. And one of them is that the Yalta forum, the Yalta conference is held not in Yalta, but in Kyiv ... But we firmly believe - next year in Yalta. With confidence and hope that we will be back on the south coast of Crimea," the Head of State emphasized once again.
The President thanked the organizers of the annual YES meeting and participants for the strategic vision of the future, which will be discussed today, and noted that in his speech he would also like to focus on strategy issues. "Strategy that would determine all our steps over the past four years, and that will be definitely focused on the future,” he emphasized.
"We have met with you to discuss the strategic goals that Ukraine faces as part of the community of democratic states of the world in conditions of the Russian aggression against our state, in conditions of the hybrid attack not only on Ukraine - the hybrid attack is carried out against the European Union, against the United States," the Head of State added.
He noted that in conditions of the upsurge of right and left populism, in the context of the changes and transformations that take place with the European Union and NATO, Ukraine is following these processes.
"I would like to emphasize separately: I my team and Ukraine have no doubt about the ability of the EU and the North Atlantic Alliance to overcome the internal crises and get out of them stronger. I did not have this doubt in 2016 when everyone said that as a result of the elections, the unity of the EU would be destroyed, I had no doubt in 2017, when everyone talked about the danger of the arrival of populists in the EU. I would like to emphasize strongly: I have no doubts now as well," Petro Poroshenko summed up.
