Joint Statement of the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria
JOINT STATEMENT
of the Prime Minister of Ukraine
and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria
A meeting was held on 26 February 2024 in Kyiv between the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov, with the following outcome:
Emphasis was placed on the friendly nature of the relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and Ukraine and on the solidarity and mutual assistance between the Bulgarian and Ukrainian people;
Confirmation was given of the willingness to strengthen cooperation with the aim to end the Russian Federation’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine and the recovery of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders;
Emphasis was placed on the all-round support of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria provided to citizens of Ukraine who received temporary asylum in the Republic of Bulgaria following the all-out armed invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine;
Support was expressed for the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the importance was stressed of its implementation as the only realistic plan to restore a full, just and lasting peace in Ukraine. In this context, emphasis was put on the co-chairmanship of the Republic of Bulgaria in the implementation of point 8 “Environmental Security” and in the participation in point 2 “Food Security”, point 3 “Energy Security” and point 7 “Restauration of Justice” under the Peace Formula;
Prominence was given to the importance of cooperation in the context of the launched International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children who have been illegally deported and forcibly relocated to Russia;
Emphatic mention was made that the accession of Ukraine to the European Union and NATO meets the national interests of Ukraine and is in the interest of the security in the Euro-Atlantic area, the Republic of Bulgaria included. The Republic of Bulgaria will support Ukraine for its integration into the EU and NATO and is willing to share its experience and expertise in the negotiation process with the European Union and the implementation of the necessary reforms in the preparation for NATO membership;
Confirmation was given of the need to send a strong political message by the Washington NATO Summit regarding Ukraine’s future membership and the Allies’ unwavering commitment to deepen Ukraine’s integration into the Alliance. In this context stress was put on the key importance of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Joint Declaration of the G7 regarding the support for Ukraine to provide security guarantees before it becomes a member of the Alliance;
An appeal was made to the international community to continue to increase the pressure on the Russian Federation by, inter alia, effective sanction measures and to ensure the political isolation of the aggressor country in international organizations;
Emphasis was placed on the joint support for the investigations of the International Criminal Court and the further efforts to sue the Russian leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and violation of international humanitarian law. Interest was noted in promoting cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of Ukraine and of Bulgaria in areas of mutual interest;
Emphasis was placed on the need to take legal action against the Russian Federation for the international crimes committed in Ukraine or against Ukraine, including compensation for damage caused by such actions. Willingness was expressed to continue working together with other countries for the earliest possible implementation of an international mechanism to compensate the victims of the Russian aggression;
Stress was put on the illegitimacy of the intentions of the Russian Federation to hold presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and in the city of Sevastopol and in some territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine and the non-recognition of the election returns by the international community;
Note was made of the performance of the international Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as per Resolution of 12 May 2023 of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers establishing the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as a first step towards the creation of an international compensation mechanism;
Note was made that in the context of the EU efforts to prevent the circumvention of the EU’s restriction measures, Bulgaria is proceeding with the draft of an inclusive national regulatory framework for the effective enforcement of the EU’s restriction measures;
Recognition was given of the important role of the Republic of Bulgaria to strengthen the defense capabilities of Ukraine. Emphasis was placed on the need to invigorate the work within the Ukrainian-Bulgarian Commission for Military-Technical Cooperation, to increase the amount of military-technical assistance to Ukraine, to start joint production of armaments and military equipment;
An agreement was reached on support for the promotion of bilateral cooperation in the joint manufacturing of weapons, equipment and ammunitions and on the implementation of the Memorandum of Intent between the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, dated 11 October 2023;
An agreement was reached on the further development of cooperation in the restauration of security in the Black Sea region and recognition was given of the importance of holding the Second Conference on Black Sea Security of the International Crimea Platform, to take place in Sofia in April 2024;
Confirmation was given of the preparedness for active cooperation in the process of reconstruction of Ukraine in the postwar period alike, including the infrastructure damaged in consequence of the Russian aggression;
Note was made of the mutual interest to continue the implementation of joint projects in the field of energy and to start new projects in the field of renewables, in keeping with the agreements reached at the negotiations of the line ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria and of Ukraine on 6 July 2023;
Note was made of the importance of joint efforts to ensure global food security, increase the transit potential for export of Ukrainian agricultural produce, making full use of the European Union’s initiative “Solidarity Lanes” and building the capacity of transportation corridors for Ukrainian agricultural produce in Southeastern Europe in the direction of the Mediterranean ports;
Emphasis was put on the importance of continuing cooperation to ensure the export of agricultural produce;
An agreement was reached to hold a meeting of the Bulgarian-Ukrainian Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation;
An agreement was reached to promote bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, in particular the connectivity of the power grids of the Republic of Bulgaria and Ukraine, the successful interconnection of the Ukrainian grid into the European Network of Transmission System Operators ENTSO-E;
Emphasis was laid on the need to strengthen cooperation in the exchange of experience regarding the dismissal of the use of Russian nuclear fuel and cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, especially to upgrade the nuclear power plants’ safety;
Restatement was made of the intentions to implement bilateral projects and initiatives within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of environmental protection between the Ministry of Environment and Water of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, signed on 9 December 2023;
Recognition was given of the positive role of the Bulgarian minority in Ukraine as a bridge between the two countries and the two peoples, and of its contribution to the defense of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine;
Emphasis was placed on the importance of the use of the existing mechanisms of cooperation within the UN, OSCE, the Council of Europe, UNESCO, IAEA and regional formats in order to strengthen political and practical assistance to Ukraine.
|
Denys Shmyhal |
Nikolai Denkov |
|
Prime Minister of Ukraine |
Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria |