During a two-day working visit to Ukraine, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s minister for foreign and European affairs, affirmed Luxembourg’s commitment to a free and independent Ukraine and the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
From the east of the country, the Minister also expressed his solidarity with the local civilian population suffering the consequences and destruction of the conflict in the east of the country, insisting that a ceasefire be applied and respected by all parties to the conflict that continues there.
In Kiev, Minister Asselborn met with government representatives, including President Petro Poroshenko, Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubkiy, and his Ukranian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin, to take stock of the crisis the country continues to face.
"Ukraine must remain a priority," said Minister Asselborn, reaffirming that "as regards the conflict in the Donbass and the illegal annexation of the Crimea and Sevastopol, Luxembourg remains unshakeable in its support for the ‘Independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and for the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements’”.
Minster Asselborn called on all parties to redouble their efforts for the full implementation of the Minsk accords, which were intended to bring an end to the fighting in the Donbass region in the east of the country.
He congratulated President Poroshenko and the government for their determined pursuit of reforms in pursuit of the Association Agreement with the EU, while urging Ukraine to pursue a determined approach to the rule of law. Together, they reviewed the progress made over the past year, with Minister Asselborn stressing the need to continue efforts on judicial reform and the fight against corruption.
After a briefing on current international affairs, Minister Asselborn's discussions focused on bilateral relations between the Grand Duchy and Ukraine. In this context, interlocutors were particularly pleased with the ratification, at the very moment of the visit, by the Verkhovna Rada, of the convention on double taxation between Luxembourg and Ukraine.
During his visit, Minister Asselborn travelled to Mariupol in Donbass with his Ukrainian counterpart and the EU ambassador to Ukraine, where they met the governor of Donetsk, the mayor of Mariupol, and representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is maintaining an observation mission there.
Minister Asselborn announced a new financial contribution for the OSCE mission while underlining the importance of its role there. He called on all parties to the conflict to guarantee full and free access for observers on the whole area covered by the mandate.
The Minister pushed his visit to the town of Shyrokyne, in a gray area, about a kilometer from the contact line, to see the destruction on the ground. Jean Asselborn also visited the city of Dnipro for a visit to Mechnikova hospital where the serious civilian and military casualties of the conflict are taken care of.
Faced with the situation on the ground in the Donbass, Minister Asselborn deplored the increase in the level of fighting in eastern Ukraine, expressing solidarity with the local civilian population suffering the consequences and destruction of the conflict. The head of Luxemburg diplomacy insisted that the ceasefire be applied and respected immediately by all parties.
Recalling that Luxembourg has already contributed some €2 million in humanitarian and technical assistance since the beginning of the conflict, Minister Asselborn announced that this year Luxembourg will allocate additional bilateral aid of €500,000, paying particular attention to the rehabilitation of medical infrastructures and the supervision of young people.
