“Ukraine is a crucial partner in developing the EU’s Eastern Partnership. We support Kiev on its full implementation of the Association Agreement and its reform process, which are the necessary conditions whereby to further intensify our relations within the European Union,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, told his Ukrainian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin, whom he met on the fringes of the OSCE MED ministerial conference.
In relation to the crisis in Donbass, Mr Alfano said: “There is no alternative to the Minsk Agreements. We understand the frustration over the periodical escalation in tensions but negotiation is the only possible way of solving the Donbass crisis. The principle of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty must be fully respected and it is essential to call for the full enforcement of the Minsk Agreements.”
Italy’s chief diplomat then raised the case of Salvatore Palumbo, a minor taken to Ukraine by his mother, a Ukrainian citizen, without the consent of his Italian father.
