UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's upcoming visit to Ukraine on May 8 is part of his East European tour, during which the Minsk agreements, peacekeepers, and humanitarian aid will be discussed, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis told Interfax-Ukraine on May 5.
Among other issues, the visit will be designed to discuss the UN’s role in promoting the implementation of the Minsk agreements, in particular, related to the deployment of an international peacekeeping mission in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the provision of humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the hostilities, he said.
By visiting Kyiv, Ban is expected to meet with the Ukrainian leadership and take part in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in Europe and the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
“As concerns the UN secretary-general’s visit to Moscow to take part in the parade, our position on the matter is well-known, and it has been aired by our foreign minister. We believe this will be the wrong signal, especially because Russia is violating the UN Charter by its actions,” he said.
The UN News Center reported earlier that Ban Ki-moon would visit Poland, Ukraine and Russia this week. While visiting Poland’s Gdansk, Ban will take part in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and will meet with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.
While in Kyiv, Ban is set to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and other high-ranking Ukrainian officials.
Afterwards, the UN secretary-general will travel to Moscow to take part in the celebration of Victory Day on May 9.
He will return to New York on May 10.
