On 3-4 September 2017 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij travelled on the invitation of the Society of Ukrainian Culture in Moldova to Chisinau, Moldova, on a working visit.
In his meetings the UWC President expressed gratitude to Moldovan governing authorities for their support of Ukraine, primarily on the restoration and preservation of its territorial integrity, and called for them to continue such support of Ukraine.
Eugene Czolij particularly thanked Moldova for co-authoring the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 “Territorial integrity of Ukraine” adopted on 27 March 2014. The UWC President highlighted the participation of Moldovan armed forces in the military parade marking the 26th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence in Kyiv on 24 August 2017. Eugene Czolij also expressed gratitude to the representatives of Moldovan governing authorities for hosting nearly 300 orphaned children of soldiers from Ukraine’s war-torn region in summer camps in Moldova.
The UWC President noted the Moldovan court sentences imposed on Moldovan mercenaries who fought on the side of the Russian Federation in Eastern Ukraine and the refusal of entry onto Moldovan territory to a Deputy of the Russian Federation State Duma elected in Crimea.
Eugene Czolij also raised the issue of recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-33 as genocide of the Ukrainian people and shared plans for the commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor.
The UWC President discussed strategic issues related to the Eastern Partnership and further plans for the Euro-integration of Ukraine and Moldova.
Eugene Czolij raised the issue of establishing parliamentary quotas for representatives of the Ukrainian minority in the Moldovan Parliament, highlighting that the Ukrainian community is the largest ethnocultural group in Moldova.
The UWC President discussed providing the Ukrainian community with facilities for organizing cultural-educational and thematic events within the scope of the Bureau of Inter-Ethnic Relations of Moldova, and granting the necessary authorizationthat would enable the construction of a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Moldova.
In addition, the UWC President called for the Parliament of Moldova to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe, and to further the development of Ukrainian language mass media and the network of Ukrainian schools in Moldova with intensive Ukrainian language instruction.
In the framework of the visit, Eugene Czolij met with the Ukrainian community in Chisinau, attended Divine Liturgy in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish of the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin, visited the Taras Shevchenko High School and participated in wreath-laying ceremonies at the monuments to Taras Shevchenko and Stefan cel Mare.
During the meetings UWC President Eugene Czolij was accompanied by President of the Society of Ukrainian Culture in Moldova Oleksandr Maystrenko, Adviser to the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Moldova Volodymyr Boyechko, and Director of the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels Maryna Iaroshevych.
“I am very pleased that I had the opportunity to discuss key issues in the areas of bilateral and multilateral relations between Ukraine and Moldova, as well as the status of the Ukrainian community in Moldova, which is an ally of Ukraine,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
List of individuals with whom the UWC President met:
Babenko Oleg, Director-General of the Bureau of Inter-ethnic Relations
Bryzhatiuk Stanislav, Director of the Taras Shevchenko High School
Candu Adrian, President of the Moldovan Parliament
Darii Lilian, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova
Hnatyshyn Ivan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in the Republic of Moldova
Groza Iulian, Executive Director at Institute of Politics and European Integration
Lupu Marian, Chairman of the Democratic Party Faction, Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly EURONEST
In the photo from left to right: O.Maystrenko, A.Candu, E.Czolij and M.Iaroshevych
