PRESS RELEASE : Concrete steps by the EU on full membership of Ukraine would support our country in the current difficult conditions – Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 23 February 2022.

During a meeting in Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda and President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda discussed cooperation between the three countries within international organizations.

Thus, in a joint statement signed as a result of today’s talks, the leaders of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania emphasize that “given the significant progress in the implementation of the Association Agreement and internal reforms, as well as the current security challenges, Ukraine deserves EU candidate status and the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland will support Ukraine in achieving this goal”.

According to Gitanas Nausėda, Ukraine has made significant efforts in reforms and reaffirmed its invariable commitment to joining the European Union.

Andrzej Duda noted that Ukraine deserves to receive this status, and assured that he would do everything possible to help it in this.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Presidents of Lithuania and Poland for being among the first to recognize Ukraine’s European perspective and sign the relevant bilateral declarations.

“I am convinced that we should not stop there. Concrete steps by the EU that would demonstrate Ukraine’s move towards full membership could significantly support Ukraine in the current difficult situation. We talked about it a lot. We believe that today this is a very important signal for Ukrainian society, for the unification of our state,” said the President of Ukraine during a conversation with the media following talks with the leaders of the Lublin Triangle in Kyiv.

The Presidents of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland also discussed ensuring the full operation of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to prevent provocations and further possible escalation.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope for the support of the Polish chairmanship in the OSCE on this issue and thanked for the prompt convening of a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.

The Presidents also discussed further joint steps within the regional formats of cooperation – the Lublin Triangle, the Bucharest Nine, the Three Seas Initiative, etc.

“Our meeting today confirmed that Lithuania and Poland stand with Ukraine. We appreciate it, friends,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up.