By KYIV. Dec 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović signed a joint declaration on Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic perspective during an online meeting on Monday, the press service of the Ukrainian Embassy in Montenegro said.
"The meeting between Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has ended. During this meeting, which took place online, a joint declaration was signed on the Euro-Atlantic perspective of Ukraine," the embassy said on Facebook page.
As reported on the website of the Ukrainian head of state, the declaration defines the priority areas of cooperation between Ukraine and Montenegro within Ukraine’s strategic course towards gaining full membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
During the conversation, special attention was paid to Ukraine’s implementation of the Euro-Atlantic integration strategy. Zelensky said Ukraine continues to consistently implement the strategic course towards Euro-Atlantic integration and looks forward to using the important experience of Montenegro, which has already passed its way to membership in the Alliance.
Abazović said Montenegro supports the Alliance’s open door policy and, accordingly, the prospect of Ukraine gaining full membership in NATO.
Zelensky called on the Parliament of Montenegro to join the parliaments of other countries on the issue of recognizing Russia as a country sponsoring terrorism.
Abazović said Ukraine can count on full support from Montenegro. "You are defending not only your own territorial integrity and sovereignty – you are defending universal values: the right of people to choose their future, the future of their country. We are ready to fully work on sanctions, we provide assistance to refugees, as well as financial and military assistance," he said.
The interlocutors discussed in detail the issues of European integration of Ukraine and Montenegro as candidate countries for membership. The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Montenegro spoke in favor of the need for practical cooperation in the context of preparing Ukraine for the next stage – the start of pre-accession negotiations.
At the end of the negotiations, Abazović invited Zelensky to pay a visit to Podgorica after the victory of Ukraine.
