The fate of Ukraine and Europe was determined here – Head of State about the Situational Office of the President of Ukraine

In the interview to ICTV channel, which took place in the Situational Office of the President of Ukraine, the Head of State told journalists some details of state and military management, in particular, he told about the dramatic moments of Ukraine’s modern history when fateful decisions were made.

The Situational Office of the President of Ukraine is a closed communication room in the Presidential Administration, where the Head of State as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine carries out the strategic management of the army and makes important decisions in the field of defense and security of the country. The Head of State noted that the Situational Office uses modern technologies, a unique security system, a new communication system and unique monitoring channels.

“Many issues as regards the fate of Europe, the fate of Ukraine in Europe and the fate of our European integration were resolved in this room. Because backsliding is unacceptable for us,” the President noted.

“I want to remind that a system of automatic refund of value added tax, the ProZorro electronic purchases system was launched from here,” the President said, adding that the decision to launch a counterattack in Donbas, which allowed the release of two-thirds of our territories, was also made here.

“Here decisions were made about Ukraine’s actions after the Russian terrorist attack on the MH17,” the President said.

“Here negotiations were held with the leadership of the European Union, with the leadership of the United States, with the leadership of NATO. I offered the creation of an international commission to investigate into this crime, which greatly increased the level of trust in Ukraine. We said that we are open and we are firmly convinced of who is fully responsible for the terrorist attack. And the investigation proved that we were absolutely right,” Petro Poroshenko noted.

The Head of State also mentioned dramatic talks with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte when the fate of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was determined. “He called me and said that there would be no ratification of the agreement and we should prepare for other forms of cooperation with the European Union, because the referendum was held in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that it was consultative, unfortunately, we saw a clear intervention of the Russian Federation in all political processes taking place in the European Union. In fact, the entry into force of the Association Agreement was in great danger. The Government of the Netherlands has already decided not to ratify the agreement,” the President said, adding that only through an effective coordination with partners in the Netherlands, through various parties, including the European People’s Party, the Socialist International, the Liberal Party, Ukraine had managed to succeed.

“In this room, we agreed on a plan of actions for the visa-free regime, filled it with concrete directions of reforms and discussed the agenda of the EU-Ukraine Summit devoted to the visa-free regime,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized.

The President noted that in this room, he had informed president Putin about the refusal of the agrement as regards the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Ukraine.

“We were holding phone negotiations with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew here. These talks took place on the eve of April 9, on the Great Monday. Exactly a year ago,” the President informed.

The President also emphasized that negotiations had been held here “ensuring the creation of a powerful world coalition in support of Ukraine”.

The Head of State demonstrated to the journalists a monitoring system for the touch line in Donbas. According to him, this provides a very effective and resolute rebuff for any breach of the ceasefire regime. “And the enemy today pays a very high price because of our fire in response. Today our troops are already equipped, they have thermal imaging devices, they have anti-sniper complexes, unique anti-tank complexes,” Petro Poroshenko said.

The President held negotiations here on the supply of Javelin anti-tank missile systems from the United States. “We are also planning to expand this cooperation and will purchase additional state-of-the-art weapons, including from the US,” the President added.