First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva held a meeting with delegations of the foreign ministries of the Nordic and Baltic countries, led by the heads of security policy departments.
The key topic of the meeting was common European and Euro-Atlantic security.
The Ukrainian side thanked the partners for their defense assistance since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, including their contributions to the PURL initiative. In total, the NB8 countries have provided more than $2 billion for PURL. Ukraine is counting on additional contributions and the fastest possible delivery of missiles for Patriot systems.
Sergiy Kyslytsya informed the participants about President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s work with European leaders to create Europe’s own anti-ballistic system, in which the Nordic and Baltic states play an especially important role. The priority is to launch the practical implementation of this initiative as soon as possible and thereby ensure the collective protection of the European continent.
“We must move forward together as quickly as possible in developing a European anti-ballistic system and ensure mass production. Ukraine is ready to contribute to this process. The unity of European countries around strengthening our shared defense capability is critically important. We must advance practical defense solutions that can be implemented swiftly,” the First Deputy Head of the Office of the President emphasized.
The participants also discussed expectations for this year’s NATO Summit, which will take place in Ankara on July 7–8, as well as Ukraine’s progress toward EU membership.
“We are counting on the opening of all EU negotiating clusters as early as June and on unanimous support from our European partners. European countries must advance the opening of all negotiating clusters just as Ukraine is fighting on the battlefield,” Ihor Zhovkva noted.
The meeting also separately addressed diplomatic efforts to achieve a dignified peace. Sergiy Kyslytsya informed the participants about the current situation and noted the importance of Europe’s participation in this process.