Kuleba, Haavisto discuss Ukraine's European integration and counteraction to regional challenges

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Finland, Dmytro Kuleba and Pekka Haavisto, discussed Ukraine's European integration and counteraction to regional challenges.

The two ministers discussed this during a phone call on June 4, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported.

The parties discussed the security situation against the background of Russia's military buildup on Ukraine’s border and in the temporarily occupied territories.

Kuleba stressed that despite public statements about the withdrawal of troops, in reality, the Kremlin has withdrawn only a small part of the previously amassed forces, which does not yet allow us to talk about a real de-escalation.

The minister expressed gratitude to Finland for the continued support of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

They also discussed regional issues, in particular the development of the situation in Belarus and the security threats posed by the growing influence of the Russian Federation there.

Kuleba and Haavisto noted the importance of joint efforts to increase trade and investment between the two countries and exchanged invitations to pay working visits.

As Ukrinform reported, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov and Chief Adviser to the President of the Republic of Lithuania on National Security Darius Kuliešius discussed the escalation on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border on the eve of Russia-Belarus military exercises.

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