On Monday, July 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. International policy" and spoke on a number of important topics.
War and peace
The Head of State noted that in the modern world, the tension and number of conflicts increases at the global and regional levels, and individual states impose approaches to international relations, which as a result violates the global law.
"Our main goal is to counteract this in the context of our own national interests. And our key national interest is peace. Not somewhere, but peace on our land. This is my main goal as the President of Ukraine," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to him, countering the aggressor, ensuring sovereignty and restoration of territorial integrity of Ukraine is the highest priority of the work of Ukrainian diplomacy.
"The illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the war in Donbas is a challenge for all, for the entire democratic world. Formation of a powerful "external frontline" of our state is the task of each diplomat. From the attache to the ambassador. A personal task for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. And my task as well," the President emphasized, adding that he uses every contact with foreign colleagues to form support for our state by powerful world leaders.
About Crimea and the Black Sea region
The deoccupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol remains among the most important foreign policy priorities.
"The transformation of Crimea into the military base on the Black Sea completely destroys security architecture in the region. Countering this requires our activity and consolidation of efforts of the international community," said the Head of State.
Zelensky reminded that in order to increase international pressure on Russia to deoccupy Crimea and protect the rights of all Crimeans, Ukraine initiated the establishment of the Crimean Platform, the first summit of which will take place on August 23.
Zelensky also pointed out the importance of countering Russia in the Black Sea region and cooperation between fleets of the Black Sea states. According to him, Ukraine will continue to demonstrate proactivity here, because only the strengthening of our leadership positions in the Black Sea Region will help maintain peace, safety and freedom of navigation.
EU and NATO membership
According to the President, unconditional solidarity of the world with Ukraine aimed to restore territorial integrity and counter aggressive actions of the Russian Federation.
"The unambiguous strong signals were included in the statements of the G7 Summit and the United States - EU Summit. It is worth noting the decision of the recent NATO-2021 Summit, which confirmed that Ukraine will be a member of the Alliance. I always say that EU and NATO projects will not be completed without Ukraine. The acquisition of full membership of Ukraine in the EU and NATO is a fundamental strategic priority of Ukraine's foreign policy," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He told that according to recent studies, more than 60% of citizens support Ukraine's accession to the EU and a convincing majority supports accession to NATO.
"For us, this is a guarantee of welfare and security. Security is a priority. And a guarantee of welfare. Our state and the Ukrainian people, I believe, have already done enough to get from partners a clear confirmation of when and how Ukraine will be a member of the EU and a member of the Alliance," the President summed up.
Additionally, all available mechanisms of international organizations - the UN, Council of Europe, the OSCE, etc. - should be used to consolidate the international support of Ukraine, the President stated.
Nord Stream 2
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that in the modern world the role of bilateral agreements increases. Therefore, the foundations of new projects and initiatives for Ukraine's strategic partnership with the United States are currently laid.
According to the President, the energy security of Ukraine is another key direction, since there is a be challenge for Ukraine in this area - the completion and launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
"Its commissioning is not about the economy. This is a weapon against Ukraine and, I’m confident, a weapon against the whole of Europe in the future. This is a direct security trap for everyone. It should be opposed and we should involve all our partners in this complex struggle. All Europe should be united to counteract this energy threat," he believes.
Economy and military
Strengthening economic component of Ukraine’s foreign policy is one of the priorities, according to Zelensky.
The President said separately that our state is interested in attracting foreign partners to implement joint projects in the fields of infrastructure, aircraft construction, agriculture, industry and power engineering. It is necessary to work on the localization of production and the involvement of leading technological companies.
"Every visit at the high and highest levels must have a significant, specific trade and economic, investment component for Ukraine," he said.
Another, extremely important direction for Ukrainian diplomats, according to the Head of State, is the development of military-technical cooperation and the search for new markets for products of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.
Cyber security
Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew attention to the special significance of the protection of information and digital space from cyber threats, effective counteraction to hybrid and disinformation attacks, because cyber attacks on a critical infrastructure become almost an everyday phenomenon.
"Over the past year, we began to create a system for detecting and combating disinformation at the state level. The next step is to establish such a system of strategic communications and coordination both at the state level and with our allies," he said.
Bilateral relations
"We have brought our relations with Great Britain to the level of strategic partnership. We strengthen our partnership and friendship with Turkey. We deepen special cooperation with Canada. We will develop strategic, mutually beneficial relations with many countries: China, Germany, France, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and a number of other states with which we build meaningful, strategic interaction," he said.
The Head of State added that an important partner for Ukraine is India, which is seen as one of the leaders in Asia, and the entire region of Southeast Asia should be in the focus of Ukraine. The global partnership with Japan and the strategic partnership with Brazil will be deepened.
"Unfortunately, Africa remains without our sufficient attention. This is one of the key points of further global development. Ukraine should be an active participant in this process," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
Ukraine’s image
President emphasized that Ukrainian citizenship should be prestigious in the world, and a citizen of Ukraine, which is abroad, should feel support and protection of his state.
"The prestige of the Ukrainian passport is confidence in your state when you found yourself in a difficult situation abroad. And here the state apparatus should act quickly, clearly, as a single organism," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The prestige of the Ukrainian passport is also the opportunity to travel freely in the world. According to the Head of State, in April 2019, citizens of Ukraine were able to enter more than 140 countries in a simplified manner, now this figure reached 149.An important task of the Ukrainian state is to support, develop ties with Ukrainians living abroad, emphasized the President.
Finally, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the implementation of all foreign policy priorities requires a clear strategy built on the national interest of Ukraine.
"I expect to approve such a thorough document, namely, the strategy of foreign policy activity of Ukraine, already on the 30th anniversary of our independence", summed up Volodymyr Zelenskyy.