On July 31st, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, held negotiations with the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, Gordan Grlić-Radman, during his visit to Ukraine.
"The Croatian people remember well the price of freedom they fought for during the independence war in the 1990s. Today, Croatia stands shoulder to shoulder with us in the struggle for a just future not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe," said Dmytro Kuleba.
The Ukrainian Minister reminded that despite all the military challenges, Croatia joined both the EU and NATO, and expressed his belief that Ukraine will also go this path with consistent and strong support from Croatian friends.
"The main topic of our negotiations today, as with other partners, was arms. We discussed further support for Croatia, and I also expressed gratitude for the assistance already provided. For understandable reasons, I won't share specific details. I will only say that there are concrete agreements that will be implemented soon. I want to emphasize that Croatia's assistance is significant, considering its share in the overall military budget of this country," noted Dmytro Kuleba.
The Minister assured that Ukraine is grateful for Croatia's support, including military-technical, financial, and humanitarian aid, especially in the energy sector. He also appreciated Croatia's provision of shelter for over 27,000 Ukrainians, treatment for Ukrainian defenders, and recuperation for their children and family members.
Considering Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an important topic of the negotiations became Ukrainian food exports.
"We have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for transporting Ukrainian grain. Now we will work on establishing the most efficient routes to these ports and make the most of this opportunity. Every contribution to unlocking exports, every open door is a real and effective contribution to global food security. Thank you to Croatia for their constructive assistance," emphasized Dmytro Kuleba.
The ministers also discussed preparations for the International Donor Conference on Demining in Ukraine, which will take place in Zagreb in October. The head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed gratitude to Croatia, which has taken on the role of one of the global leaders in demining efforts in Ukraine.
A significant part of the negotiations focused on the implementation of the Peace Formula by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
"The Croatian side confirmed its readiness to participate in the implementation of a whole range of points from the Peace Formula, including food security, energy security, restoring respect for the status of the UN and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, achieving justice for Russian crimes, and preventing ecocide. We are very grateful. This is precisely the kind of specificity we expect from other countries, and we continue to work together on the implementation of the Peace Formula and the organization of the corresponding summit," said the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dmytro Kuleba expressed gratitude to his colleague, the Croatian government, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković personally for supporting Ukraine on its path to the EU and NATO. He also thanked the Croatian Parliament for recognizing the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
The negotiations and press conference in Kyiv were conducted in a hybrid format. Dmytro Kuleba participated online, as he was in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.
