Zelenskyy calls on EU to start accession talks with Ukraine in June
Pravda Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the European Union should officially start accession talks with Ukraine in June this year to show Russia that Europe does not show weakness.
Source: Zelenskyy’s statement following the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius on 11 April, European Pravda writes
Details: Zelenskyy reported that at the Three Seas Summit, he spoke about the need to reaffirm European unity.
Quote: “Every democratic nation in Europe that shares and defends the common values of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic area deserves to be a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. And this is a fact. This fact must be confirmed by real actions,” he explained.
Quote: “June is the time when it will be right to actually start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Europe needs this signal of its own strength so that Putin is not tempted to think that Europe is showing weakness,” the president added.
Zelenskyy also called on NATO to extend a membership invitation to Ukraine but did not specify when exactly this should happen.
Quote: “Putin wants to destroy us; in fact, he wants to destroy Ukraine and then conquer all other neighbours of Russia. And there are simply no real alternatives to our life and to our security. And that is why there are no alternatives to Ukraine’s invitation to NATO. We need this invitation to join the Alliance. Ukraine, all our people, our soldiers deserve it,” he said.
Background: Earlier, it was reported that both Ukraine and Brussels are working to ensure that negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU officially commence no later than the end of June, when Belgium’s presidency of the EU Council ends and Hungary’s six-month presidency begins.
As for NATO, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has previously explained why he opposes the idea of inviting Ukraine to join the Alliance by analogy with the EU’s decision.
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