The three ministers of Foreign Affairs of Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg) were present yesterday in Kiev to meet the new Ukrainian authorities.

The Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders visited Kiev on Monday the 10^th of March with his Dutch counterparts Frans Timmermans and the Jean Asselborn from Luxemburg for a political mission in the Benelux framework. The three ministers held official talks with the President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov and the Foreign Minister Andrii Deschytsya. They also held discussions with some representatives of civil society.

Ministers of the Benelux countries have reinforced the message of the EU. Like any sovereign people, Ukrainians should decide their own future. In this context, the Ministers stressed that European values ​​should benefit all Europeans, whether inside or outside the European Union. They expressed their appreciation for the restraint shown by the Ukrainian authorities to the aggression suffered by the country.

Didier Reynders and his Dutch and Luxemburgish counterparts called for full respect for the sovereignty

and territorial integrity of Ukraine. They also reminded the authorities to organize an inclusive government considering all the political sensitivities of the country and to prepare free and democratic elections.

Didier Reynders outlined the need for protection of the minorities, in casu the russian-speaking minority in the Ukrainian territory. “A large decentralisation could brig solutions”, he assumed.

Finally, the Minister Reynders and his  counterparts have visited the Maidan place to drop a wreath in memory of the victims of the clashes of February. They expressed the Benelux solidarity to the Ukrainian people.