Second ministerial meeting of Ukraine - South-East Europe held in Croatia
Ukraine Government
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, posted 13 July 2025 09:23
On 12 July, the second ministerial meeting of the Ukraine - South-East Europe format took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia, co-chaired by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman.
This initiative, launched by Ukraine, reflects its leadership in strengthening Europe. The first meeting in this format was held on 17 January 2025 in Kyiv, when ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia, and Montenegro visited the Ukrainian capital at the invitation of Minister Sybiha.
Since then, four successful leaders' summits have taken place, including the recent summit in Odesa, chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Dubrovnik ministerial meeting built on the agreements reached there.
Alongside Ukraine and Croatia, the Dubrovnik meeting included representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Montenegro.
"I am grateful to Croatia and my friend Gordan for hosting this meeting. This format, initiated by Ukraine, is an equal partnership of like-minded nations striving to live in a strong, secure, and prosperous Europe. Thanks to our shared goals and mutual respect, we have seen dynamic progress: four successful leaders' summits have already taken place, and now we hold our second ministerial meeting. Thank you for your active efforts in building our shared European future," said Andrii Sybiha.
The Minister expressed gratitude to the participating countries for supporting Ukraine in countering russian aggression and reaffirmed that Ukraine is not a competitor to any EU member state or candidate country.
"We are partners, not competitors, on our shared path to a larger and stronger Europe. In fact, EU enlargement is not about expansion but reunification. It is about our return to the common home to which we have always belonged historically, culturally, and civilisationally," the Minister emphasised.
Ukraine is ready to contribute to European security and prosperity in areas such as trade, logistics, energy, food security, military technology, defence innovation, IT, countering disinformation and hybrid threats, and strengthening social cohesion and national resilience.
The Foreign Minister noted that EU accession negotiations should be based on an objective assessment of merits, and any political obstacles to opening negotiation clusters are unacceptable.
Minister Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine's commitment to peace efforts and its aspiration to restore a just peace. He stressed that moscow rejects peaceful initiatives and seeks to prolong the war. Therefore, the only effective way to stop putin is to deprive his war machine of resources. The Minister called for increased Euro-Atlantic pressure on moscow to compel it to pursue peace.
He also highlighted the successful Recovery Conference held in Rome, noting that Dubrovnik serves as an example of successful post-war recovery from the late 20th century - an experience and model that is significant for Ukraine. The Foreign Minister invited the participating countries to actively engage in Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, working together to make it a success story.
Following the meeting, the participating countries adopted a joint communiqué expressing support for Ukraine in countering russian aggression, endorsing Ukraine's EU and NATO membership aspirations, calling for increased pressure on russia and stronger support for Ukraine, taking a principled stance on holding russian perpetrators accountable, and stressing the urgency of restoring a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine.
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