Spain and Ukraine held bilateral consultations

USPA NEWS - The Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ignacio Ybáñez, has traveled to Kiev, which has met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Klimkin, and has held bilateral consultations between Spain and Ukraine with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olena Zerkal.

During his visit, Ignacio Ybáñez has also met with President of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hanna Gopko, and the president of the Committee for European Integration, Irina Gerashchenko; as well as other representatives of various Ukrainian parliamentary groups. On the other hand, the Secretary of State has held a meeting with the Head of the SMM-OSCE Mission, Ertugrul Apakan, as well as Spanish members of the mission, who conveyed the backing and support of Spain to the work they are doing. He also held a long meeting with numerous representatives of Ukrainian civil society.

During the bilateral consultations, Ybáñez and Zerkal have done a review of bilateral relations in political, economic, cultural and consular fields. Although they have found the good condition of the same, they have particularly expressed a desire to give greater impetus to trade and investment between the two countries in strategic sectors such as energy, transport and infrastructure, in which precisely the Spanish companies they have great international experience and can bring significant added value.

Coinciding with the second anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs wanted to move the solidarity of Spain and reiterated the position of conviction which is an act contrary to international law and a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as reflected in resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014 the United Nations General Assembly, supported by Spain. Ignacio Ybáñez and Olena Zerkal have also addressed the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The Secretary of State has expressed concern about the current deterioration of the ceasefire, he has insisted that it can only be a political and negotiated solution, based on strict compliance with the agreements Minsk by all parties, and full respect of international law, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The Spanish Secretary of State has encouraged the Ukrainian authorities to pursue and deepen the reform process; especially in the fight against corruption, as well as in the judiciary, constitutional reform, decentralization, security or economy.

Both have also referred to the forthcoming EU-Ukraine summit, first with the Association Agreement / DCFTA in force, which precisely will focus on the program of Ukrainian reforms and will assess the positive effects of their application and confirm the need to deepen EU relations with this privileged partner of the Eastern Partnership. Ignacio Ybáñez and Olena Zerkal also discussed some issues related to the agenda of the Security Council, as the Global Review of Resolution 1540, the fight against terrorism and the role of victims, reform of the Security Council and the election of a new Secretary General, or cybersecurity and the consequences of climate change as new challenges to international security.