Abstract
<jats:p>The purpose of the study is to investigate the establishment and functioning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UNR Directory during 1918-1920. The methodological basis of the work is the principles of historicism, objectivity, systematicity, scientificity, comprehensiveness and specificity. Their combined application allowed us to consider the studied processes and phenomena according to the dynamics of their development, abstracted from individual views and beliefs, trying to achieve the most complete and diverse disclosure of the stated problem. The principles and approaches listed above are universal foundations of any scientific research, therefore they are used comprehensively throughout the work. On their basis, an appropriate methodological base was formed, which combines general scientific, interdisciplinary and special-historical methods of cognition. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the involvement of previously unpublished documents of the Central State Archive of Higher Authorities and Administration of Ukraine. Conclusions. It was established that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UNR Directory was a key body that ensured international recognition of Ukraine and the struggle for its independence in the face of armed foreign aggression. It was found that V. Chekhivsky was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the first government. From August 1919, the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UNR was held by A. Livytsky, who in October 1919 was appointed Head of the UNR Diplomatic Mission in Poland. After lengthy negotiations with the Polish side, the Warsaw Treaty of 1920 was concluded on April 21 of the following year. It was concluded that thanks to the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 1918–1920, the UNR Directory was able to expand its foreign policy ties. In particular, it sent its Extraordinary Diplomatic Missions to Sweden, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Great Britain, the Vatican, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, the USA, Romania, and the countries of the Caucasus (Georgia, Azerbaijan). Keywords: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNR Directory, diplomacy, foreign policy, international relations, embassies, consulates.</jats:p>