Zelenskyy, Netanyahu Discuss Situation In Donbas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he had discussed the situation in the conflict-torn Donbas region and security issues with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Kiev on Sunday for a three-day visit

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2019) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he had discussed the situation in the conflict-torn Donbas region and security issues with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Kiev on Sunday for a three-day visit.

"As a state, we have a lot to learn from Israel, especially regarding issues of security and defense. And we will definitely do that," Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with the Israeli prime minister, as quoted by the presidential press service.

According to Zelenskyy, the issues of war and security were the priorities of the agenda for his meeting with Netanyahu.

Zelenskyy also thanked Israel for its continued support of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Netanuahu, on his part, used the opportunity to personally invite Zelenskyy to Jerusalem.

According to the Israeli prime minister, this visit has already been coordinated, and it will happen next week or very soon.

During the talks in Kiev, the sides signed a number of agreements on cooperation, including in the spheres of trade, agriculture, education, youth and sports.

In April 2014, the Ukrainian government launched an offensive against the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics, which claimed independence after what they considered to be a coup in Ukraine two months earlier.

Since September 2014, peace in the region has been mediated by the Minsk Contact Group, which was created after the Normandy format talks. Despite the fact that several documents on de-escalation measures have been adopted over this time, the warring parties have continued to violate ceasefires established by them.

Zelenskyy and Netanyahu also agreed to finally fix the problem of Ukrainians being denied entry to Israel.

"Recently, our countries have been actively cooperating in the field of migration. I am speaking of numerous denials of entry to Israel to Ukrainian citizens. We agreed to finally resolve this issue," Zelenskyy said.

The president stressed that citizens of the two countries should fully use the benefits of the visa-free regime.

During the talks, the sides also discussed issues related to trade and the Ukrainian president expressed hope that Israel would soon ratify the free trade agreement with Ukraine.

"Israel remains one of Ukraine's key trading partners in the middle East region. Our total trade turnover exceeded $1 billion ... We have also agreed to immediately start working to extend the agreement to the sphere of services," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy called on Israeli companies to invest in various areas in Ukraine, such as road construction and infrastructure projects, medicine and education, energy conservation and IT.