Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed energy security issues during a meeting on Aug. 23.
“The participation of German energy companies in the development of the infrastructure will be welcome in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian government quoted Yatsenyuk as saying during the meeting, held in Kyiv.
Yatseniuk hailed a German government decision “to allocate extra funds for the social needs” of the population of the military conflict-stricken east of Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian prime minister also discussed with Angela Merkel practical aspects of the use of announced aid to Ukraine to the tune of 500 million euro,” the government said.
“The Ukrainian prime minister stressed the irreversibility of the European choice of the Ukrainian people, and in this context reaffirmed the importance of the ratification by the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament] of the Association Agreement with the European Union in September,” the statement said.
“We agreed to technical consultations with the Russian side on the implementation of the section of the agreement on setting up a free trade zone with the EU, but we have heard no convincing arguments from Russia concerning any consequences for the Russian economy,” Yatseniuk said.
Yatsenyuk and Merkel also raised “the issue of stabilization of the situation in eastern Ukraine,” the statement said.
