Klimkin, EU foreign ministers discuss issues of captured sailors, reforms, elections, Nord Stream 2

18.02.2019 15:15

Ukrinform

The informal discussion, which took place on Monday morning with the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and EU foreign ministers in Brussels, touched upon the most urgent issues of bilateral relations and international policy, including the release of captured sailors and other Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia, problem of reforms in Ukraine, upcoming elections and the threats posed by the Nord Stream 2 project.

"The first topic is Ukrainian sailors and Ukrainian political prisoners. It is very important. Federica Mogherini spoke about this, and all the ministers raised this issue in the first place. The second topic is the prospects of reforms, what should be done next," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told journalists following the informal meeting with the European ministers on Monday.

According to him, the list of key reforms, on which the attention of European partners is focused, is very simple. It includes combating corruption, reforming the judiciary, reforming economic management, and, in general, continuing to move forward. As Pavlo Klimkin stressed, Ukraine has a real chance to join the European Community but only through consistent reforms.

"The third topic, of course, was the elections. Everyone really likes the fact that we have 44 candidates, but for the political context it is very important that we confirm our very good tradition of holding free and fair elections," the Ukrainian minister said.

According to him, one more topic of conversation with the European ministers was the challenges and threats associated with the implementation of Nord Stream 2 project.

"Of course, we discussed Nord Stream, as we managed to achieve the application of the European rules to the Nord Stream. It is important that these rules are applied to the fullest extent," the minister said.