The foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Austria on Thursday welcomed the new Ukraine ceasefire agreement and said they hoped it will be honoured by all sides in the conflict.

The two countries, along with the other EU member states, will work hard to create conditions for free, peaceful and independent development of Ukraine, where Bulgaria has a direct interest related to the ethnic Bulgarian community there, Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said at a joint news conference after talks with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz in Sofia.

The talks also focused on the further development of bilateral relations and the prospects of the countries of the Western Balkans to join the EU.

Enhanced bilateral dialogue is underway in the context of the upcoming conference in Vienna with the participation of all Western Balkan countries, Mitov said. Our goal is to encourage them to keep up the pace of reform that will allow them to realize their European prospects, he added.

Sebastian Kurz spoke about the active economic cooperation between the two countries.

There are 400 Austrian companies active in Bulgaria, which makes Austria the second-largest foreign investor in the country, Kurz said, higlighting the positive assessment given by Austrian businesses in Bulgaria to the current coalition cabinet and its reform efforts.

Mitov and Kurz signed a intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in culture, education, science and youth.

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