History
Navigate the meetingYES was founded in July 2004 in Yalta, when Victor Pinchuk invited some 30 European leaders to debate the future of Ukraine and the EU. At the conference, participants agreed to join forces and create a collective initiative to support Ukraine’s EU accession. Until 2013, the YES Annual Meetings were held in the historic Livadia Palace in Yalta, Crimea in order to transform the place where Europe was divided at the 1945 Yalta Conference into a venue for uniting a wider Europe. After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the YES Annual Meetings moved to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where it is hosted at the Mystetskyi Arsenal.
«Regime change in Russia may become a prerequisite for a peace treaty on Ukraine’s terms. Putin will never agree to the conditions that we demand. Even if he did, there is no faith in Putin. No matter what he says, no matter what he signs, I don't think that Ukrainians will believe it, for any reason.»