The foreign ministers are due to meet with the city’s and the region’s authorities, and to visit the sea port and the water purification plant. They will also take part in a meeting with members of the OSCE Monitoring Mission bureau and the local intergovernmental organizations (UNHCR, ICRC), and go to the contact line marking off the Ukrainian territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The visit to Mariupol falls several weeks after the November incident with the Russian fleet at the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, which resulted in the seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Due to Russia’s blockade, Mariupol is in a dire economic situation, with acute needs for development aid and infrastructural support.

The EU top diplomats’ visit to Ukraine will offer an opportunity to voice strong support for this country, which is affected by an ongoing Russian aggression. Its first act was the illegal annexation of Crimea, followed by the armed conflict provoked and fueled in eastern Ukraine, and most recently by the open attack on Ukrainian vessels heading towards the Azov Sea. Minister Jacek Czaputowicz’s participation in the EU foreign ministers’ visit to Ukraine will be another opportunity, after his recent visit to Kyiv a few weeks ago, to reiterate Poland’s commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. The visit will also reflect Poland’s steadfast support for our eastern neighbour’s European and transatlantic aspirations.

MFA Press Office

Fot. Tymon Markowski / MSZ