On Wednesday, September 11, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha received U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Lammy in Kyiv.

The foreign ministers reaffirmed the unwavering alliance between Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. The key topics of the talks were strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities and resilience.

Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized that in order to protect Ukrainians, bold action by all allies is needed to lift any restrictions on the use of U.S. and British weapons against legitimate military targets in russia, as well as the decision to intercept russian missiles and drones in the skies over Ukraine.

“The farther Ukraine is able to strike, the sooner a just peace will be reached. The enemies of the free world are not hesitating, they are acting and creating unacceptable threats to the whole of Europe and the Middle East. In such circumstances, there can be no doubt in the ranks of democracies. We must act boldly. We must be co-leaders of the bravery coalition,” the Minister said.

The Foreign Minister called on the allies to increase investments in the purchase of Ukrainian weapons for Ukrainian soldiers and emphasized that this would allow for a rapid increase in military support for Ukraine and save allied resources.

Andrii Sybiha emphasized the need to strengthen sanctions against russia, to completely close any loopholes to circumvent them, and to use frozen russian assets to support Ukraine.

“russia must pay. International law provides all the legal grounds to use not only profits and interest, but also the frozen russian assets themselves. It is time for decisive joint action,” the Minister emphasized.

The Foreign Minister discussed with his American and British counterparts steps to strengthen Ukraine’s economic resilience and energy security ahead of winter and expressed gratitude to the United States and the United Kingdom for their support of our energy sector.

During the talks, the Minister informed his colleagues about russia’s use of munitions containing dangerous chemical substances against Ukrainian soldiers and emphasized the need for a tough collective response to these actions.

The diplomats also discussed joint work on preparations for the second Peace Summit. Andrii Sybiha expressed hope for the support of the American and British diplomacy in expanding the Peace Formula coalition and the number of signatories to the final communiqué of the Peace Summit. He emphasized that the Peace Formula has no alternatives.

A separate topic of the talks was Ukraine’s further integration into NATO. Minister Sybiha emphasized that this course remains an unchanged priority for Ukraine.

“We need historic decisions on the path to Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance. Ukraine’s membership in NATO is a prerequisite for a lasting and long-term peace in Europe,” the Foreign Minister said.

During the day, the American and British diplomats also held talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and participated in the fourth summit of the International Crimea Platform.

A special element of the visit was the presentation to the distinguished guests at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine of archive diplomatic documents of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and archive documents of the Crimean War, which were kindly provided by the State Archival Service of Ukraine.

Presenting the exhibition to his American and British counterparts, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized that the documents testify to the close diplomatic and people-to-people ties between Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom over the centuries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is grateful to the Head of the State Archive Service Anatoliy Khromov, the Director of the Central State Archive of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government Larysa Levchenko, and the Head of Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Kyiv Yaroslav Faysulin for searching and preparing the presentation materials.