Kyiv, July 25, 2022

A meeting between His Excellency President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and His Excellency President of the Republic of Guatemala Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla took place today in Kyiv as part of the official visit of the Head of the Guatemalan state to Ukraine to discuss common issues and confirm the importance of continuing interaction with the view of strengthening the friendly ties that exist between the two states.

This is the first visit at the highest level in the history of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Guatemala. The heads of state noted the restoration of interest in the development of contacts between the two states, as well as the absence of contradictions between them in approaches to solving global issues of modern international relations.

The President of Ukraine highly appreciated the clear and consistent position of Guatemala in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

Both Presidents strongly condemned Russia's unprovoked, unjustified and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, and also confirmed their clear determination to support appropriate criminal investigations aimed at bringing to justice all those guilty of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The high-ranking parties declared their readiness to jointly promote the initiative to establish a Special Criminal Tribunal to punish the crime of aggression committed by Russia against Ukraine.

The Presidents of Ukraine and Guatemala consider Russia's occupation and blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as the destruction by Russian troops of agricultural lands, machinery, grain storage facilities and enterprises for the processing of agricultural products and food production unacceptable.

His Excellency the President of Guatemala commended the agreements reached in Istanbul on unblocking the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports.

The heads of the Ukrainian and Guatemalan states expressed hope that the Russian side would strictly adhere to the agreements reached.

His Excellency President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to His Excellency President of the Republic of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei Falla for consistent support of Ukraine at all international platforms and forums, involvement in international efforts aimed at further political isolation of the aggressor state.

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Guatemala announced his country's willingness to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, in particular, in overcoming the devastating consequences of the Russian invasion and restoring the civil infrastructure of destroyed Ukrainian settlements.

The high-ranking officials expressed interest in expanding cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Guatemala in the field of education, science and technology, agreed to increase the exchange of students and interns in the future, as well as to facilitate the implementation of joint scientific projects.

The heads of state agreed to promote the development of cooperation in the field of tourism by establishing direct ties between the tourism departments of the two countries.

Ukraine and Guatemala agreed to continue working on mutual expansion of diplomatic and consular presence in both states and to provide all kinds of further assistance to the work of the respective institutions.

The heads of the Ukrainian and Guatemalan states declared their intention to intensify the bilateral political, economic, cultural and humanitarian dialogue, to develop the contractual and legal basis of bilateral relations for the benefit and prosperity of the friendly nations of Ukraine and the Republic of Guatemala.