The presidents of Ukraine and Poland met on Sunday to mark the anniversary of a series of massacres of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War which have for generations strained ties between two countries that are now allies.
Poland has positioned itself as one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
But the Volhynia massacres have continued to hang over ties between the two nations, particularly ahead of the July 11 anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in a series of killings that spanned from 1943 to 1945.
Warsaw says around 100,000 Poles were killed in the massacres. Thousands of Ukrainians died in reprisal killings.
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda both attended a remembrance service for the victims in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk.
"Together we pay tribute to all the innocent victims of Volhynia! Memory unites us!" Mr Duda's office and Mr Zelenskyy both wrote on Twitter. "Together we are stronger."
The service was attended by the heads of the largest Orthodox and Catholic churches in Ukraine and the head of the Polish Bishop's Conference, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki.
The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram that Ukraine and Poland were "united against a common enemy who dreamed of dividing us".
Mr Duda called the service "a testimony of friendship in the face of a difficult history".
In a post on Twitter, Mr Zelenskyy said he had a "brief but very substantive" discussion at the event with Mr Duda about the upcoming Nato summit in Vilnius, where Ukraine is hoping to see decisions made that will hasten its goal of joining the alliance.
"We agreed to work together to get the best possible result for Ukraine," he wrote.
The head of Mr Duda's office said the fact that the presidents were commemorating the victims together was "historic", but that more work was needed.
"This is not the end of this difficult road, explaining the historical truth to our Ukrainian friends, it will of course be continued," Pawel Szrot told private broadcaster Polsat News.
The Polish parliament has said that the murders, carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists under the leadership of Stepan Bandera, bore elements of genocide.
Ukraine has not accepted that assertion, and often refers to the Volhynia events as part of a conflict between Poland and Ukraine which affected both nations.
Warsaw and Kyiv have also clashed over whether Polish specialists can search for and exhume the remains of Poles who died in Ukraine.
The tensions led to an unusually public row between Poland and Ukraine earlier this year when a Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Mr Zelenskyy should apologise and ask for forgiveness for the events in Volhynia.
However, Ukraine's Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk moved to defuse tensions in May when he told the Polish parliament that Kyiv understood Poland's pain.
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Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
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Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
