Spanish PM Sanchez begins presidency of EU Council with trip to Kyiv

On July 1, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, came to the capital of Ukraine on an official visit.

On the morning of July 1, Pedro Sanchez published footage from the Kyiv railway station on Twitter.

"Already in Kyiv. I wanted the first event of Spain's presidency of the EU Council to be in Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelensky," Sanchez wrote.

As noted, Sanchez will meet with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

"I will convey all European solidarity to the government and parliament. We will support the Ukrainian people until peace returns to Europe," Sanchez said after arriving in the capital of Ukraine.

It should be noted that on July 1, Spain began its presidency of the European Union, and Sanchez decided to visit Ukraine on that day at Zelensky's invitation.

Unlike most visits of top foreign guests, which are kept secret until the last, Sanchez's visit was known in advance. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced it during an online speech at a meeting of the European Council.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Jose Manuel Albarez, previously stated that the priority of the Spanish presidency of the European Union will be "preserving the unity of Europe in the face of Russian aggression" in Ukraine.

This is already the third visit of the Spanish Prime Minister to Ukraine after the beginning of the Russian aggression. In particular, he visited Kyiv on February 23, 2023, and also came in April last year.

President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that during Spain's presidency of the EC Council, Ukraine will be able to gain influence in Latin America.

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On January 1, 2023, the Czech Republic handed over the presidency of the Council of the European Union to Sweden and assured Ukraine of further support.

Rubryka also reported that in December of last year, the Russian Federation began the procedure of denunciation of agreements to which it was a party as a member country of the Council of Europe.