Zelenskyy: "We expect EU to fulfill its promise to start negotiations"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects the European Union to fulfill its promise to start negotiations on Ukraine’s European integration in response to the country’s full implementation of all recommendations of the European Commission.
He said this during a joint press conference with President of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs in Kyiv, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
Zelenskyy said that he had discussed relations between the countries at the level of EU institutions with the President of Latvia, and stressed that Latvia fundamentally supports Ukraine's full accession to the European Union. In this context, he added that he had informed his Latvian counterpart about Ukraine's implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission, which was a prerequisite for the start of negotiations on European integration. Zelenskyy thanked Latvia and Rinkēvičs for their willingness to maintain the "existing energy approach" to the EU's cooperation with Ukraine.
"We expect the EU to fulfill its promise to start negotiations in response to Ukraine's full implementation of all recommendations," the Ukrainian head of state stressed.
Latvia believes that Ukraine has fulfilled all the recommendations necessary to start negotiations on joining the EU, so the leaders of European countries should make a decision at the meeting of the European Council on December 14.
"I would like to reiterate Latvia's support for the meeting at the level of the European Council on December 14. We believe that the leaders of European countries should start the process of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. We believe that Ukraine has fulfilled all the criteria that have been established. As noted in the European Commission's recent report, we note Ukraine's progress in reforming. We believe that the EU should respond accordingly by starting the negotiation process," Rinkevich said.
In response to the question of how Latvia can help Ukraine in this matter in the European political arena, the President of Latvia assured that his country undoubtedly provides such support.
"We constantly emphasize the need to start the negotiation process between the EU and Ukraine as soon as possible, so that the decision is made in December, and that we start this process almost in February," he said.
Rinkēvičs also noted Latvia's "strong and steadfast" political support for Ukraine in the European Council and all other European institutions, both in the accession process and in obtaining a 50-billion-dollar financial assistance package from the EU. According to Rinkevics, the Prime Minister of Latvia and other government officials are in constant communication with various European bodies to ensure that the necessary decisions are made.
"I had a meeting last week with Ursula von der Leyen and Mr. Dombrovskis and we spent a lot of time discussing how to support Ukraine, how to ensure the flow of the necessary macro-financial assistance, how to convince individual member states who are still considering their position. I'm sure it will be done. It may take longer. But I think that Ukraine needs help now," the President of Latvia emphasized.
