On the 14^th March 2014 Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Ukraine to UNESCO Oleksandr Kupchyshyn met the UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova.

The Ukrainian side expressed gratitude to the leadership of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the principled stance of the UN and its Secretary-General Ban Ki –moon, in particular, for his statement that “all parties have to work for a solution that is guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter, including respecting Ukraine's unity and sovereignty”.

During the meeting, the Director-General’s attention was drawn to the extremely tense situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, caused by a flagrant violation by the Russian Federation of fundamental treaties governing the Ukrainian -Russian relations, including the one on temporary dislocation of Russian Black Sea Fleet on the territory of Ukraine, which de- facto started a military intervention in Crimea.

In this regard the Ukrainian side highlighted, inter alia, the threats of humanitarian nature, associated with the crisis, the issue of preservation of cultural heritage in Crimea, including the Ukrainian World Heritage sites of UNESCO, located on the peninsula.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on other topical issues of cooperation with UNESCO, including Organization’s participation in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's anniversary that is included in the List of anniversaries with which UNESCO associates itself in 2014-2015, organization of the International regional Conference for the UNESCO Program "Education for All" to be held this year in Ukraine etc.

As a result of the meeting, held in the spirit of constructive dialogue and mutual understanding, it was agreed to hold further contacts with regard to issues raised between the leadership of UNESCO and the Permanent delegation of Ukraine to UNESCO.