Agro Perspectiva

Austria supports Ukraine on way to de-escalation and will provide assistance

02.10.2014 10:44 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — As of yesterday, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with Federal Chancellor of Austria Werner Faymann, President Petro Poroshenko Press Office reports. As to the report, the Ukrainian Head of State expressed gratitude to Austria for its support of Ukraine on the way to the EU, particularly he noted: «Austria is a reliable partner of Ukraine, its strong ally and defender in the process of European integration». The President addressed the Federal Chancellor with a request to accelerate ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU by the Parliament of Austria. He noted that Ukraine had fulfilled all the procedures necessary for the beginning of the Agreement’s implementation starting from November 1. On behalf of the people of Ukraine, the President expressed gratefulness to Austria for its constant support of Ukraine in the establishment of peace, especially for the participation in the OSCE mission and the supply of UAVs for the monitoring of the situation on the border. The Ukrainian Head of State emphasized that the main topic of discussion had been the de-escalation of the conflict in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the implementation of the Peace Plan of the President. «We reached an agreement that all items of the Peace Plan must be fulfilled including strict control over the Ukrainian-Russian border with participation of the OSCE representatives which must ensure monitoring and verification of the ceasefire regime, liberation of all hostages and holding of the elections in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on December 7,» the President said. Besides, significant attention has been paid to economic cooperation. Austria is the 5th foreign economic partner of Ukraine in terms of investments and the potential of cooperation is huge, the Ukrainian Head of State noted. Also, Poroshenko expressed gratitude to the Government and business of Austria for the initiatives that had been discussed at the meeting. In his turn, the Federal Chancellor of Austria emphasized that his country respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. «I would like to underline our support of the Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. These are our values that we share in the EU and Europe,» he said. Reportedly, Werner Faymann highly evaluated the efforts of Petro Poroshenko aimed at the establishment of peace in the Donbas. «I know that you do a lot for peace. We welcome such an approach,» the Chancellor of Austria stressed. Besides, Werner Faymann also emphasized that Austria and the entire EU supported the Peace Plan of the Ukrainian President and added that military solution to the conflict would have no prospects.