On Friday, 6 September, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha held a series of meetings and telephone conversations with his foreign counterparts on his first day in office.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister spoke on the phone with thirteen foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Germany, Poland, Romania, the United States, Turkey, Finland, the Czech Republic, and the European Union.

Andrii Sybiha assured his counterparts of the immutability of the foreign policy course set by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and received assurances of further unwavering support for our country in countering russian aggression, defending its sovereignty and restoring its territorial integrity.

The key topics of conversation were strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities, increasing sanctions pressure on the aggressor state, lifting restrictions on the use of weapons, engaging partner air defences to shoot down russian drones and missiles in Ukrainian skies, moving towards Ukraine's full membership in the EU and NATO, and implementing the Peace Formula to restore a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.

In his talks with a number of allies, the Foreign Minister placed particular emphasis on the need to develop defence and industrial cooperation, including direct purchases of weapons for Ukraine from Ukrainian manufacturers.

During his first day in office, Andrii Sybiha also chaired a series of meetings with the Ukrainian diplomatic corps: the leadership of the MFA and its structural units, and heads of foreign diplomatic missions. The Foreign Minister set clear tasks for Ukrainian diplomats to implement the foreign policy priorities of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and stressed the need to redouble efforts to strengthen our country and its position in the international arena in the face of russian aggression, as well as to ensure that Ukrainian diplomacy meets the realities of war.

The Minister also held a separate meeting with the expert community, where he outlined the key areas of work of the MFA under his leadership. He expressed his belief that the expertise and experience of the meeting participants would help make Ukraine's foreign policy more effective. The Minister noted that the MFA is ready to actively cooperate with the expert community.

The meetings covered such issues as the Peace Formula, accession to the EU and NATO, sanctions policy and its improvement. Andrii Sybiha explained in detail what changes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs and what the new policy towards Ukrainians abroad should be based on. Particular attention was paid to the topics of facilitating Ukrainian exporters to enter global markets, attracting investment to Ukraine and countering disinformation.