Ukraine's foreign minister holds series of meetings during opening session of U.N. General Assembly (10/17/99)

Ukraine's foreign minister holds series of meetings during opening session of U.N. General Assembly

Embassy of Ukraine in Canada

OTTAWA - The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk, held a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings in New York on September 23.

The latest Ukraine-European Union meeting was held on September 23. The European Union was represented at the meeting by Finland's Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, Portugal's Foreign Minister Jaime Gama, and the European Union's foreign policy director, G. Burhgardt.

At the start of the meeting, the Finnish foreign minister said the European Union highly values Ukraine's European choice and stressed that the latest Ukraine-EU meeting, the fifth this year, demonstrates that relations are developing intensively.

The ministers discussed political and economic relations, and expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the Ukraine European Union Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation. Particular attention was paid to the drafting of European Union strategy on relations with Ukraine. The strategy is expected to be adopted at the EU summit scheduled for Helsinki in December of this year.

In this context, Mr. Tarasyuk stressed the importance of a positive response to Ukraine's bid to become a full member of the European Union in the future, since Ukraine's leadership is constantly implementing democratic and market reforms, and further deepening of these reforms is the basis for President Leonid Kuchma's re-election campaign.

The issue of shutting down the Chornobyl nuclear power plant before the year 2000 also was discussed during the meeting. Mr. Tarasyuk said Ukraine is prepared to fulfill all its obligations in this regard, but stressed the need for Ukraine's Western partners to also fulfill their obligations. In response, the Finnish foreign minister disclosed that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will make a decision in November on financial support for the shutdown of the power plant.

Satisfaction was expressed about Ukraine's more active involvement in the European Union-initiated Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe. In this regard, Mr. Tarasyuk presented the text of a joint appeal to the European Union on the restoration of shipping on the Danube. The appeal was signed by the transport ministers of Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania.

On the same day Mr. Tarasyuk attended a meeting of the foreign affairs ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement as an observer.

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