OREANDA-NEWS. Today, 14 November, the Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven welcomed the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on his first official visit to Stockholm. Later today, the President will meet the Speaker of the Riksdag Urban Ahlin.

President Poroshenko's visit is part of an intensive series of bilateral meetings and encounters between Sweden and Ukraine.

At a press conference following the talks, the Prime Minister recalled that the EU has agreed on a firm response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, and its aggression in Eastern Ukraine. Sweden follows with grave concern the worsening human rights situation in illegally annexed Crimea. The President emphasized that the security situation in the temporarily occupied territories in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk must be solved and called for Sweden within the EU to use all means to achieve full implementation of the Minsk agreements. The two leaders discussed the way forward to bring peace to Eastern Ukraine and to secure full Ukrainian control of its border.

The Prime Minster confirmed that in these difficult and challenging times, Sweden continues to stand by Ukraine's side, and to provide all the support it can offer. Sweden recognizes and welcomes the reforms that have already been introduced in Ukraine. Over the last two years, Ukraine has achieved more than in the two decades following the country's independence. The two leaders agreed that important reforms remain to be implemented.

They discussed how Sweden can best continue to support Ukraine in its reform efforts and in forging closer links with the European Union. They talked about continued efforts to fight corruption, strengthen the rule of law, and pursue the decentralization and energy efficiency reforms already under way. Sweden's considerable support for reforms in these areas will continue.