"The President of Ukraine has received a mandate of high trust from the people, so now he holds great responsibility to meet their expectations. Democratic and free presidential elections are very important, but this is only the first step towards restoring peace in the country. Ukraine needs change and that requires concerted and focused efforts by the President and all of the Ukrainian people," the President said.
Dalia Grybauskaitė pointed out that Ukraine was facing the key challenges of ensuring stability, signing the free trade provisions of the Association Agreement with the European Union and putting them into practice, embarking on constitutional reform and continuing European reforms for visa liberalization. The European Union is committed to sign the Free Trade Agreement at the European Council at the end of June.
The President noted that Lithuania had valuable and extensive experience of implementing reforms, and therefore it could assist Ukraine in many relevant ways. To ensure effective European reforms, the President said, Ukraine needs to establish a transparent and centralized institution to coordinate the process.
The Presidents of Lithuania and Ukraine also exchanged views on the progress made in delivering the changes required for visa liberalization. Ukraine still needs to develop anti-discriminatory legislation, to reform the Labor Code and to strengthen the ombudsman's institution. Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined that it was necessary not only to ensure the adoption of suitable legislation, but also its effective enforcement.
Among the other issues discussed at the meeting was the work done in pursuing constitutional reform. The President underscored the paramount importance of the division of powers and their competences.
President Dalia Grybauskaitė also spoke with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Turchynov, about the implementation of the needed reforms and the stabilization of the situation in Ukraine.
