During a working trip to Luhansk region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a video conference with President of Latvia Egils Levits, also signing a joint Declaration on Ukraine's European prospect.
"Thank you for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, for helping the wounded Ukrainian military, for expert assistance in carrying out reforms," Zelensky told Levits, according to the president's press service.
Read alsoPresidents of Ukraine, Poland, Baltic states sign joint declaration on cooperationThe heads of state discussed the latest escalation in the temporarily occupied Crimea. They stressed the importance of launching the Crimean Platform as a mechanism for the deoccupation of the peninsula and protection of human rights in the region. Egils Levits confirmed his participation in the inaugural summit of the Crimean Platform in Kyiv on August 23, 2021.
"The Crimean Platform is a very important initiative of Ukraine in order not to allow the international community to forget the problem of Crimea. I am one hundred percent sure that Ukraine will be able to return Crimea, and I think that the Crimean Platform is a very important political tool for this," said the Latvian president.
In addition, the heads of state stressed the importance of restoring the dynamics of trade and economic cooperation to pre-crisis levels.
The talks resulted in the signing of a Joint Declaration on Ukraine's European prospect, with the two leaders commending significant progress made in implementing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, supporting the need to update it, agreeing on the need for a strategic revision of the Eastern Partnership initiative and expressing intentions to strengthen joint efforts to support Ukraine's integration into the European Union.
The presidents also noted Ukraine's intention to apply for EU membership in the future and agreed that the Latvia will support Ukraine when the country is ready to take "this responsible step."
Read also"Brothers, you are not alone": Poland, Lithuania legislators visit warzone in Donbas in show of unity with UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky thanked Egils Levits for supporting Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Latvia became the third country to sign such a Declaration with Ukraine, along with Lithuania and Poland.
