Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Monday pledged his commitment to Ukraine’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” as he met his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the day’s European foreign affairs council meeting in Brussels.

“Our focus was on recent developments and efforts towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” he wrote in a post on social media, before saying that Ukraine is a “key priority” for Cyprus during its term as president of the EU Council.

To this end, he pointed out that the EU’s member states agreed last month to ensure the release of €90 billion worth of loans to Ukraine, as well as a 20th package of sanctions on Russia and those affiliated with its government.

Additionally, he said that the Cypriot government has been “working closely with Ukraine” with the aim of opening the first cluster of accession negotiations for it potentially joining of the EU in the future.

“We also exchanged views on the further strengthening of our bilateral relations and the partnership between Cyprus and Ukraine,” he said.

Last month, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos had said that Cyprus “worked tirelessly” to ensure the release of the loans, and that the disbursement of the funds will “start flowing as soon as possible” to provide “vital support for Ukraine’s most pressing budgetary needs”.

Meanwhile, the Council of the EU described the latest round of sanctions as “the biggest package of listings in two years” and “stern, multi-layered economic sanctions targeting key sectors which fuel Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said that the EU “will provide Ukraine with what it needs to hold its ground while we inhibit those enabling Russia’s illegal aggression”.

The latest sanctions include port access bans for 46 more Russian and Russia-linked vessels, transaction bans on 20 Russian banks, ending all support for the development of the digital rouble, and banning the export of computer numerical control machines and radios to Kyrgyzstan, given the possibility of their onward export to Russia.