Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : Kate Grimley Evans appointed to the ACNRA

The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 31 August 2022.

The Secretary of State has appointed Kate Grimley Evans to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (ACNRA) for 3 years.

Kate Grimley Evans

Appointed from 15 September 2022 until 14 September 2025.

Kate is a solicitor who specialises in Data Protection and Freedom of Information. She was previously Head of Information Law at a large law firm and now practises on a consultancy basis, most recently through the law firms Kesteven Partners and Bates Wells. Kate is also the Managing Director of her own company which specialises in information law training and compliance audits. In April 2020, Kate was appointed as a judicial office holder, carrying out a part time role as a Fee Paid Member of the Upper Tribunal assigned to the Administrative Appeals Chamber (Information Rights Jurisdiction) and First Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber (Information Rights Jurisdiction). Kate qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and started practising in the area of information law in 2011. Since then, she has acted for a wide range of clients with a focus on the charity and education sectors. She is the author of the leading guidance on data protection and information law matters for the museum sector.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Members of the ACNRA are offered remuneration of £386 per day. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Kate Grimley Evans has not declared any significant political activity.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Helen Birchenough reappointed to Arts Council England

The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 31 August 2022.

The Secretary of State has reappointed Helen Birchenough as South West Area Chair of Arts Council England for 4 years commencing 5 December 2022.

Helen Bircheough

Helen has always worked with creative people. Her early career was in advertising and brand development and she soon added a number of voluntary roles to her portfolio. She was a trustee and Chair of Salisbury Playhouse from 2003 – 2012 and of the Salisbury International Arts Festival from 2016. She was a key part of the team that merged these two organisations and the Salisbury Arts Centre to form Wiltshire Creative.

Helen chaired Wiltshire College, a complex multi-site further education and higher education college through a period of transformational change. She also chaired the education grants panel for Wiltshire Community Foundation. Helen is a board advisor for Messums Wiltshire, the pioneering multi-purpose gallery and arts centre based in a 13th century tithe barn in Wiltshire and with other spaces in London and the North. She is a Deputy Lieutenant in Wiltshire.

Helen represents ACE National Council on the Acceptance in Lieu and Cultural Gifts Panel.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Area Chairs of Arts Council England are offered remuneration of £6,400 per year. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Helen Birchenough has declared no significant political activity.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Three new Trustees appointed to The Victoria and Albert Museum

The press release issued by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 31 August 2022.

The Prime Minister has appointed Professor Rosalind Blakesley, Rusty Elvidge and Zewditu Gebreyohanes as Trustees of The Victoria and Albert Museum.

Professor Polly Blakesley

Appointed for a four year term commencing 05 September 2022

Rosalind Polly Blakesley is Professor of Russian and European Art at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and co-founder of the Cambridge Courtauld Russian Art Centre. A Syndic of the Fitzwilliam Museum and Trustee of the Samuel Courtauld Trust, she has also served on the boards of the National Portrait Gallery, Kettle’s Yard and the Hamilton Kerr Institute. Exhibitions she has worked on include An Imperial Collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC; International Arts and Crafts at the V&A; and Russia and the Arts at the National Portrait Gallery, part of a groundbreaking exchange with the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Awards include the Pushkin Medal and, for her book, The Russian Canvas, the Art Newspaper Russia Best Book Award and the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize. She is now working on the research project Russia, Empire and the Baltic Imagination, supported by a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust.

Rusty Elvidge

Appointed for a four year term commencing 05 September 2022

Rusty has been a collector since he was at Bristol University and used to buy antique silver and jewellery at auction rooms and fairs in the West Country. He has also collected Regency furniture, English watercolours and over the last 20 years paintings by the Bloomsbury set, Modern British artists, as well as Contemporary Art and Pottery. He lives in a Grade 1 listed house which he has restored. Rusty has worked in finance all his career: at Salomon Brothers on the trading floor, then at Credit Suisse heading the global foreign exchange business, and over the last decade has been on the the Private Banking side as financial adviser to some of the most successful UK based entrepreneurs. Rusty has worked in Japan, Switzerland and the US, though predominantly in the UK where he is based full time.

Zewditu Gebreyohanes

Appointed for a four year term commencing 05 September 2022

Zewditu Gebreyohanes is the Director of Restore Trust and Executive Editor of History Reclaimed. She was formerly Head of the History Matters unit at Policy Exchange. In 2020 Zewditu served on the government commission for housing and architecture ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful’ as an assistant to its Chair, the late Professor Sir Roger Scruton. She graduated from King’s College London in 2020 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Professor Blakesley and Rusty Elvidge did not declare any political activity. Zewditu Gebreyohanes declared having canvassed for the Conservative party within the last five years.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : The Secretary of State has reappointed Pippa Shirley to RCEWA

The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 31 August 2022.

Pippa Shirley has been reappointed as a member of The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

Pippa Shirley

Reappointed for a four year term commencing 15 October 2022.

Pippa is the Director of Waddesdon Manor. She read History at Oxford before an MA in Art History at the Courtauld Institute, London. Pippa worked in publishing as a Commissioning Editor for the Grove Dictionary of Art, then went to the British Museum as a curator in the then Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities.

In 1992 she moved to the Victoria & Albert Museum as a curator in the Metalwork, Silver and Jewellery Department, specialising in decorative ironwork and English and continental silver, working on three major gallery projects to redisplay the National Collections of ironwork and silver.

In 2000 she came to Waddesdon as Head of Collections, leading the curatorial team responsible for the contents of one of the most important National Trust properties in the country, home to a spectacular ensemble of continental decorative arts and English, French and Netherlandish paintings created by four generations of the Rothschild family. In 2015 oversight of the Gardens was added to her role, and she was made Director in 2022. The Manor is managed on behalf of the National Trust by a charitable trust, The Rothschild Foundation, under the chairmanship of Lord Rothschild. She has published and lectured on a range of subjects, including the history of collecting. She also represents Waddesdon across different media channels for both press and marketing and in her directorial and curatorial role.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Trustees of the RCEWA are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Pippa Shirley has not declared any significant political activity.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Michael Salter-Church MBE appointed Chair of the Horniman Museum & Gardens

The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 31 August 2022.

Michael Salter-Church MBE

Michael is an elected member of the Council of the National Trust, the UK’s largest charity for environmental and heritage conservation, and Director of External Affairs, Policy & Sustainability at Openreach Ltd.

He founded the Community Interest Company that organised London’s LGBTQ+ Pride event 2013-2022, turning it into the capital’s third largest annual event. He accepted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary service on behalf of the volunteers who ran Pride in London. Michael has served on a number of organising, advisory and fundraising committees, including Action for Children, the Terrence Higgins Trust and National Student Pride.

He was a special advisor in 10 Downing Street until 2015, leading on broadcasting he was also the principal advisor on equal marriage. He moved to lead public affairs work at J Sainsbury’s plc before joining the team at Openreach, where he is also the senior sponsor of an employee network.

He is a member of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and lives with his husband and two cats near the Horniman Museum and Gardens.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Trustees of the Horniman Museum are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Michael Salter-Church MBE has not declared any significant political activity in the last five years, he was a Special advisor in 10 Downing Street until 2015.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Progress on health, housing and employability support for veterans
The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 31 August 2022.

Significant progress has been made in a range of veterans’ support and services, including in healthcare, housing and employment, since the launch of the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan six months ago, new data shows.

Significant progress has been made on delivering the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan which was launched more than six months ago.

More than 100 NHS England Trusts have now gained ‘Veteran Aware’ status, providing the highest standard of care to veterans and their families.

As well as healthcare, progress has also been made in other areas, such as employment, wellbeing support, and digital verification. These include:
- Opening bids for the Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, which will develop innovative projects to enhance bespoke treatment for injured veterans’ healthcare.
- Rolling out the Great Place to Work for Veterans guaranteed progression scheme across all central government departments, making it easier than ever before for veterans to join the Civil Service
- Completing the first tranche of the Advance into Justice programme, which helps veterans become prison officers – with job offers received in May
- Distributing £5 million of funding through the Afghanistan Veterans Fund to charities, so they can better support veterans of recent conflicts. This includes funding to upgrade the Veterans Gateway website and for Samaritans to develop a new veterans peer support hub
- Investing £1m in new funding for a new digital service for veterans – this will enable them to quickly and easily verify their veteran status online.
As part of the employability support package for veterans, the Department for Education has launched an updated website for veterans interested in applying for the Troops to Teach scheme.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said:

We want to make sure that regardless of location, our veterans can access incredible employment opportunities and the support they may need.

Schemes such as Advance into Justice and Troops to Teach allow veterans to bring their fantastic transferable skills into other areas.

Great progress has been made on our provision for veterans but there is more to do to realise our mission to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran.

With more than 1500 ‘Veteran Friendly’ GP practices across England, accessing bespoke mental health and support services is now easier to access than ever before.

The Cabinet Office has also announced the newest members of the Veterans’ Advisory Board, which provides independent advice to ministers on current and future support for veterans.

This refreshed board will provide views from academia, charities, employers and the veteran commissioners from across the UK to provide independent insight into the veteran community and potential opportunities to improve support.

Notes to editors
- The Veterans’ Strategy Update can be found here.
- The latest Veterans Advisory Board members list can be found here:
  - David Richmond CBE
  - Susanna Hamilton
  - James Phillips
  - Danny Kinahan
  - Sir Nick Pope KCB CBE
  - Prof Beverly Bergman OBE
  - Nicky Murdoch MBE
  - Louisa Clarke
  - Lee Buss-Blair
  - Leon Lloyd
  - Paul Findlay MBE
August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Government commits to further £2 billion of property savings
The statement made by the Cabinet Office on 31 August 2022.
New Government Property Strategy to realise savings by selling off property and making buildings more efficient

Momentum builds for civil service relocation programme, with 7,000 roles moved already from London

Key commitment to invest more in regenerating derelict public land

More than £2 billion in savings will be realised from property sales and efficiencies, Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced.

The savings are part of the new Government Property Strategy, which has been published today (31 August).

As part of the plans, the government will sell £1.5 billion of property assets over the next three years as projects such as the Government Hubs programme sees government staff consolidated into fewer buildings. £500 million of savings will also be made by reducing operating costs, using modern building materials and energy sources, and cutting spend on leases.

Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg said:

“We are cutting the cost of the public estate so that we can return money to the taxpayer.

All spending on government property needs to be justified.

This will also help us deliver the Places for Growth programme, which will allow greater savings and mean the government is closer to the communities it serves.”

The new strategy will accelerate the Places for Growth programme, which is moving 22,000 civil service roles out of London by 2030. The scheme has already relocated 7,000 jobs out of the capital, including 1,389 moved to Yorkshire & the Humber – the most of any UK region.

The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department for Health and Social Care have moved more than 500 roles to Leeds while the Department for Education and Home Office contribute to around 250 Civil Service roles now based in Sheffield.

Other areas have also benefited from the programme, with more than 1,000 government jobs newly based in the North West and 550 moved to the North East.

The strategy also pledges to invest £300 million in grant funding, helping to unlock smaller, brownfield sites across England for housing through the One Public Estate (OPE) programme.

OPE, which is delivered in partnership with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Local Government Association, and has seen numerous success stories, including in Waltham Forest where the site of an old Library is being regenerated so it can be used to build 67 new homes and a central Family & Homes Hub. West Suffolk has also benefited through the ground-breaking Mildenhall Hub, which has brought education, health, employment, culture and leisure services together working collaboratively under one roof, right in the heart of the community.

The government estate is made up of hundreds of thousands of assets, from prisons and courts, to schools and museums, hospitals and health surgeries, job centres, military bases, administrative offices, and many more, spread all around the UK.

It will also ensure the Government estate supports delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Greening Government Commitments. Progress has already been made in this area with emissions from the government estate having fallen 57% since 2009.

The strategy outlines other successes which have already been delivered. These include reducing water consumption by 14%, and reducing the overall waste products from departments by 51%.
August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Strict new controls on pork and pork products to protect Britain’s pig sector against African swine fever

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 31 August 2022.

Strict new controls restricting the movement of pork and pork products into Great Britain to help safeguard Britain’s pigs from the threat of African swine fever (ASF) have been announced today (Wednesday 31 August 2022).

African swine fever poses no risk to human health, but is a highly contagious disease for pigs and wild boar. In recent months it has been spreading in mainland Europe leading to the deaths of thousands of pigs and causing significant disruption to the meat trade. With no vaccine available, the disease poses a significant risk to our domestic pig herd and our long-term ability to export pork and other pork products around the globe.

The new control, which comes into force from Thursday 1 September 2022, will strengthen the requirements for bringing pork and pork products into Great Britain from the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association states. It will no longer be legal to bring pork or pork products weighing over two kilograms, unless they are produced to the EU’s commercial standards. This does not apply to commercial imports, which remain unaffected by the control.

This action comes following the publication of a new risk assessment, conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, which recognises that the chance that the ASF virus may be brought into Great Britain stands at ‘medium risk’. It found that the most likely way the virus could be introduced to Great Britain is by a member of the public bringing pork or pork products back from an ASF-affected country. This measure will help limit possibly infected pig meat being brought into Great Britain through various means, such as in passengers’ luggage or in vehicles.

Biosecurity Minister Lord Richard Benyon said:

“An outbreak of African swine fever is one of the biggest threats our pig industry faces today. We are not complacent and this decisive and proportionate action will stop the entry of pork products that pose the greatest risk. It is essential we maintain the highest levels of biosecurity and all visitors to the UK will need to abide by these new regulations.”

UK’s Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Richard Irvine said:

“If African swine fever ever reached the UK it would have a severe and damaging impact on our pigs and pig industry. A single outbreak of this highly infectious disease would also harm relations with our trading partners and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of our pig farmers.

“We are taking this action to limit the risk of disease spreading by banning people bringing in high-risk pork and pork products that could carry this virus until further notice. Everyone can do their bit to help stop animal diseases spreading to this country by simply not bringing pork and other meats onto our shores.”

Welsh Government Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Lesley Griffiths said:

“African swine fever is a highly fatal viral disease which is a major threat to our pig industry. Although not present in the UK, it is spreading across Europe and this timely action is important in helping to prevent the disease reaching our shores. We continue to monitor the international situation very closely and review our disease control tools.”

Everyone can help to stop the spread of ASF to the UK by doing the following:

If you are visiting non-EU countries, you must not bring any pork or pork products back to the UK.
If you are visiting EU or EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein), you must not bring pork or pork products which are over 2kg unless they meet EU commercial production standards.
Disposing of leftovers or food waste in secure bins that pigs or wildlife cannot access.
Farmers, the public and members of the food industry should practice high biosecurity standards, including never feeding catering waste, kitchen scraps or meat products to pigs, which is illegal and can spread the disease.
The government continually monitors disease outbreaks around the world to assess whether there may be risks for the UK and takes action to limit the risk of the disease reaching our shores.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : We will never recognize foreign colors on our land and are always ready to defend the blue-yellow flag – President

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 23 August 2022.

On National Flag Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the solemn ceremony of raising the blue-yellow flag.

In the presence of the Head of State, the country’s largest flag, located on the territory of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, was raised in Kyiv. The solemn raising was accompanied by a military orchestra. The National Anthem was played. The honor guard company marched.

During the speech, the President noted that every year, shortly before Independence Day, the Ukrainian people pay tribute to one of their most important symbols and one of the greatest shrines – the National Flag of Ukraine.

“The combination of two colors that we incredibly love, cherish and will never exchange for any other. We will never recognize foreign colors on our land and in our sky. And we are always ready to defend our blue-yellow flag,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Head of State announced a moment of silence to commemorate the heroes who gave their lives for these colors.

The President noted that our flag has gone through a lot and was present at many places. In particular, it was brought to the parliament on the day of the declaration of independence of Ukraine, it was in space together with Leonid Kadeniuk, at the North Pole with our polar explorers, it conquered Everest. The blue-yellow flag was also a star on the stages in Istanbul, Stockholm and Turin, when the Ukrainians who won the Eurovision wrapped themselves in it, it triumphantly rose above the flags of other countries at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Sydney, Beijing, London and many others cities of the world.

“It also attended the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, when during the semi-final match between the USSR and GDR national football teams, Danylo Myhal, a representative of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, ran onto the field. Dressed in vyshyvanka and carrying a blue-yellow flag, he danced the hopak. He always dreamed of transferring this flag to Ukraine. Today it finally happened. And this legendary flag will be raised today at the opening of the Ukrainian football championship,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The President also emphasized that the blue and yellow colors were on the armor and near the hearts of Ukrainian warriors when they liberated Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Mariupol and dozens of other cities in 2014, as well as the Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, Sumy region and our other occupied lands in 2022.

“It witnessed the birth of a world masterpiece and heard firsthand where the “Russian warship” should go. Now everyone is in their place: our flag has returned to Zmiinyi Island, and the “Moskva” cruiser has followed the given course,” said the Head of State.

The President expressed belief that the blue-yellow flag will fly again where it should be by right.

“In all temporarily occupied cities and villages of Ukraine. Occupied – temporarily. Fly – forever. In Melitopol, above Peremohy Square. Where there can be no flag of those who lose the war. There will be blue and yellow. In Kherson, above Svobody Square. There can be no flag of those who do not know what freedom is. There will be blue and yellow,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President emphasized that the Ukrainian flag will again be on Azovsky Avenue in Berdyansk, on Zelena Alley in Skadovsk, over the NPP in Enerhodar and over the Kakhovska HPP, on the Adzhyholsky lighthouse and on Savur-Mohyla, on the shores of Siverskyi Donets, Kalmius, near the Oleshky sands.

“There cannot be a flag of those who hear these names for the first time. There will be blue and yellow. And in Crimea. In Yalta, in Kerch, Dzhankoy, Simferopol, on Ai-Petri. Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags. And no matter how someone tries to twist history, exactly these colors are historically associated with Crimea,” the Head of State emphasized.

The blue-yellow flag will also be in Lutuhyne, over the Taras Shevchenko House of Culture, in Lysychansk, over the Volodymyr Sosiura Palace of Culture, because there cannot be another flag next to these names, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced.

“Our flag will fly again in Milove, near the Bell of Memory and the memorial to the victors of Nazism. And it will be in Severodonetsk, next to the monument to the Cossacks. There should not be a flag of those who have nothing to do with either the first or the second. There will be blue and yellow. Our Ukrainian flag. Our amulet. Amulet of Ukraine. From land to the skies! Happy National Flag Day,” the President summed up.

According to the Constitution, the national symbols of Ukraine are the National Flag, the National Coat of Arms, and the National Anthem of Ukraine. The National Flag is a flag made of two equal-sized horizontal stripes of blue and yellow colors.

August 31, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Andriy Yermak following the “Kyiv Initiative” – Ukraine’s victory will be our joint victory with partners

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 22 August 2022.

Regular holding of the “Kyiv Initiative” will contribute to effective coordination of efforts of neighboring partner countries to help Ukraine protect freedom, independence and security in Europe. This was said by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak during a conversation with media representatives following the “Kyiv Initiative” event.

“Today’s meeting is dedicated to the format that we called the “Kyiv Initiative”. The goal we set and achieved is the coordination of our efforts. We talked about many things today. First of all, it is security. We informed our colleagues about the situation at the front, about what is necessary for our success to be even greater. We talked about the continuation of sanctions pressure. We talked about future security guarantees for Ukraine,” said Andriy Yermak.

The Head of the President’s Office highly evaluated the results of the first meeting. According to him, an agreement was reached to hold meetings of the initiative every month, in particular in the format of a video conference. He expressed belief that the circle of participants of this format will expand – other partners of Ukraine will join it.

“I think it is critically important today for all our partners to be in the same information field, to get all the latest news directly from us, so that we can coordinate our efforts. As I said, our victory will be a joint victory with our partners, with our neighbors, we are sure of that,” Andriy Yermak said.

According to him, during today’s meeting, among other things, the issue of providing security guarantees to Ukraine was discussed.

“I am glad that our partners are very interested in familiarization, and some are also willing to be guarantors of our security,” said the Head of the President’s Office.

As Andriy Yermak reported, the first recommendations from the Group on International Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which he chairs together with former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, should appear shortly.

“We are currently working on this document. I informed our colleagues about it today, they are also waiting with interest for this very powerful document,” he added.

Secretary of State, Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Jakub Kumoch said: “Your victory will be our victory. We always feel like a small part of your great victory during our visits to Kyiv. Today, Ukrainian women and men protect Europe from totalitarianism and tyranny. Thank you very much for that. And our states will help the Ukrainian people until victory.”

Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the Republic of Lithuania Asta Skaisgirytė emphasized that her state strongly supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“We sincerely believe in your victory,” she said.

Director of the Diplomatic Directorate of the Office of the President of Hungary Krzysztof Altus, for his part, noted that humanitarian aspects are also extremely important.

“Our hearts are always open to our Ukrainian friends. We will support all refugees who come to our country, but we will also do our best to help those who want to return to Ukraine,” he assured.

Advisor to the Romanian President on European Affairs (and Foreign Policy Affairs) Luminiţa -Teodora Odobescu thanked for the invitation to join this initiative and expressed complete solidarity with Ukraine.

Foreign Affairs Adviser to the President of Latvia Solveiga Silkalna emphasized that her country will stand with Ukraine until all the lands of our state are liberated from the occupiers.

Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia Liis Lipre-Järma reaffirmed that the Estonian government supports the people of Ukraine in their struggle for freedom.

“Estonia supports you in every way on the path to Europe. And, of course, military aid is the number one priority,” Liis Lipre-Järma said.

Adviser to the President of Estonia Celia Kuningas-Saagpakk assured that her country will help Ukraine until victory.

Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic Jana Kobzová noted the importance of discussing the security situation in such a circle.

“You are defending not only your territories and your people, but also freedom in Europe. We are hopeful to continue our cooperation,” she said.

August 31, 2022