OREANDA-NEWS. February 28, 2013. During the official visit to Germany the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara held talks with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle.

During the meeting, which was held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere, the main attention was paid to the European integration of Ukraine, including the future Association Agreement within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.

Minister Mr. Kozhara informed German colleague on the outcome of the EU-Ukraine summit in Brussels and expressed the hope that the results will provide new impulses for activation of efforts as for Ukrainian as European counterparts to ensure the signing of the document.

Guido Westerwelle stressed the interest of Berlin in the signing of the Association Agreement, noting that without Ukraine, the European project will be unfinished. Head of the German Foreign Ministry said that based on the Association Agreement Ukraine and the European Union will be closer politically, economically and socially.

The sides noted the mutual interest in deepening Ukrainian-German bilateral relations, including intensification of political dialogue. Leonid Kozhara stressed that the Ukrainian side attaches great importance to cooperation with Germany, which is crucial for European integration progress of our country, but also contributes to the solution of European security. German Minister expressed hope that Ukraine will consistently continue its course of comprehensive reforms and assured the readiness of Germany to support the Government of Ukraine on the way. Both ministers stressed the importance of taking further steps to liberalize the visa regime for the citizens of Ukraine.

The parties noted their position on issues of regional policy. Guido Westerwelle welcomed Ukraine's chairmanship in the OSCE and confirmed the willingness of Germany to cooperate with our country on the agenda of the OSCE, particularly emphasizing the importance of the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict.