On February 18, 2019, in Brussels, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin took part in the ministerial meeting "Ukraine + Friends of Ukraine in the EU" at the level of ministers of the foreign policy of the EU member states. At the event, the EU institutions were represented by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner for the European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn. The meeting was organized with the support of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Anders Samuelsen, and took place before the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, during which was due to the discussion on Ukraine.

Pavlo Klimkin briefed the participants on the progress of Ukraine in implementing key reforms, the security situation in eastern Ukraine, the consequences of Russian aggression in the waters of the Azov Sea and the illegal occupation of Crimea.

The Minister expressed gratitude to the EU member states for the consistent support of Ukraine and the unity of the EU in the issues of restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state. He welcomed the political agreement on the introduction by the EU of the Azov package of sanctions and stressed on the importance of further strengthening of political and sanctions pressure on Russia aimed to release Ukrainian sailors and political prisoners.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister positively assessed the recent visit of the EU assessment mission to the Azov region and expressed his hope for the early decision on the implementation of new EU infrastructure and socio-economic projects to support the region suffering from the consequences of the economic blockade by the Russian Federation.

Peculiar attention was paid to the preparation for the presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine and the prospects for strengthening Ukraine-EU cooperation in the context of ensuring the integrity of electoral processes to avoid external interference. The participants of the meeting discussed in detail the ways of further support of our state in counteracting the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

The leadership of the EU and member states noted the success of the large-scale transformations that took place in Ukraine after the Revolution of Dignity and emphasized the continued support of our state in restoring sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the pursuing of the reforms agenda.