Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he arrived in Kyiv early Saturday morning for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky as his country rotates between the presidency of the European Union.
Sanchez wrote on his official Twitter account: “I am in Kyiv. I wanted the first head of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union to be in Ukraine with Zelensky,” adding that “all of Europe would express solidarity” to him.
I am in Kyiv.
He querido que el primer acto de la Presidencia española del Consejo de la UE, sea en Ucrania junto a @ZelenskyYa.
Trasladare su Gobierno y al Parlamento toda la solidaridad europea.
Mantendremos el apoyo al pueblo ukraniano hasta que la paz regrese in Europe. pic.twitter.com/bPcvnYxNZZ
– Pedro Sanchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 1, 2023
Sanchez arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland. He is scheduled to give a speech to the Ukrainian parliament and then meet with the President of Ukraine.
Zelenskiy announced the visit on Thursday in a speech to European leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels. Zelensky emphasized the symbolism of the visit and the importance of the next six months for Europe. He added that the time has come to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Sanchez said: “The war in Ukraine will be one of the top priorities of our presidency, with a focus on building unity on this issue among all member states.”
This is Sanchez’s third visit to Kyiv since the start of the war with Russia in February 2022.
Sanchez is due to return to Madrid on Sunday, where he will meet European Council President Charles Michel, the day before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a group of EU commissioners arrive in the Spanish capital.
