Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna had a telephone conversation with UK Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood on Tuesday, 17 September.

During the conversation, the Deputy Prime Minister and her British counterpart agreed to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ukrainian and British Ministries of Justice.

Olha Stefanishyna thanked the Secretary of State for Justice for her support to Ukraine and stressed that Ukraine and the UK had a lot of room for interaction and cooperation in the field of justice. In particular, in finding legal solutions for the application of sanctions and commercial arbitration.

“When it comes to the management of frozen russian assets, there is a serious need for a legal basis on which to base certain decisions. It is also important for us to have a dialogue to implement one of the points of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula on fair justice for the victims of the war in Ukraine and punishment for war crimes committed on our territories. We look forward to productive cooperation with the UK and a joint search for solutions to these and many other issues within the framework of the Memorandum,” the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.

She also emphasised her appreciation of the UK’s role in mobilising international attention to russia’s war crimes of sexual violence and punishing those responsible.

“The United Kingdom has already done much to ensure that such crimes committed by russia in Ukraine are seen and heard by the international community. You are helping us to be the voice of the victims and support them. We are convinced that further joint work of our governments in this area can help to bring all those responsible to justice,” the official said.

In turn, Shabana Mahmood congratulated Olha Stefanishyna on her appointment to the new position and expressed hope for active cooperation in the near future.