Czech foreign minister praises Ukraine for advancing peace efforts under Minsk treaty

Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček on Thursday praised Ukraine for taking steps to resolve the conflict in the east of the country against pro-Russian separatists on the basis of the Minsk Agreement.

Speaking on the margins of an OSCE conference in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had taken positive unilateral steps to open the door to advancing peace talks, including withdrawing heavy weapons from the region.

Petříček’s counterpart, Vadym Prystaiko, plans to make an official visit to the Czech Republic in early February 2020, when the speakers of the countries’ parliaments are also expected to make bilateral visits.

The foreign ministers also discussed the holding of the first meeting of the Czech-Ukrainian expert forum and the ninth meeting of the Czech- Ukrainian intergovernmental commission on economic, industrial, scientific and technical cooperation.

Author: Brian Kenety