31 October – 5 November 2016 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij was on a working visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he held a series of official meetings with the Heads of Ukrainian Churches, the President, Vice Prime Ministers, Ministers and other high-ranking state officials of Ukraine, as well as with representatives of the international community and Ukrainian civil society, and appeared before the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Foreign Affairs Committee.
The meetings of the UWC President involved discussions on a range of issues primarily related to the defence of the territorial integrity of Ukraine; combatting the hybrid war of the Russian Federation, including Russian disinformation; the extension of targeted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation until it fully complies with the Minsk agreements and de-occupies Crimea; the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine which have been violated as a result of Russian aggression, as well as international support for the UN General Assembly resolution on human rights violations in Crimea, as initiated by Ukraine; the deployment of a police mission by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to Eastern Ukraine and an OSCE observer mission to Crimea; the need for a Tomos of Autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate; the protection of human, national and religious rights of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation; Russian court rulings calling for the demolition of the Holy Trinity Church of the Bohorodsk Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate in Nohinsk; and the trial of the Director of Ukrainian Literature Library in Moscow. Also addressed was the importance of expediting the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine; the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including by the Netherlands; the adoption of a visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens travelling to EU member states in the Schengen area taking into account the fulfillment by Ukraine of all criteria; the realization of reforms in Ukraine; UWC support for the economic development of Ukraine; and combatting corruption in Ukraine, including with the obligatory e-declaration of assets by state officials.
During his visit to Ukraine the UWC President was accompanied by Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Serhiy Kasyanchuk.
Individual meetings were also attended by UWC Vice President and Chair of the UWC Committee in Support of the Economic Development of Ukraine Olena Koszarny and Assistant to the Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine Volodymyr Kistianyk.
“The meetings in Ukraine were very productive and focused on strengthening the effectiveness of joint actions in furthering priority issues for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
View a video of the UWC President’s meeting with the President of Ukraine HERE and HERE.
More information on specific meetings of the UWC President in Ukraine is available on the official websites of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, President of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
List of individuals with whom the UWC President met:
Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate Patriarch Filaret
Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk)
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko
First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv
Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin
Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine Yurii Stets
First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Herashchenko
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska
Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Kostiantyn Yelisieiev
Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Rostyslav Pavlenko
Chairperson of the Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Artur Herasymov
Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopkо
Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Culture and Spirituality, Mykola Kniazhytskyi
Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Liaison with Ukrainians residing abroad of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations Valerii Patskan
Head of the Representation of NATO in Ukraine, Director of the NATO Liaison Office, Alexander Vinnikov
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the United States of America in Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of France in Ukraine Isabelle Dumont
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine Kees Jan René Klompenhouwer
Chairperson of the Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviychuk
In the photo from left: E. Czolij, S. Kasyanchuk, V. Prystaiko, L. Dir and P. Klimkin
