Vilnius - Kyiv remains committed to its European integration course, says First Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov.
“There has been no turnaround in Ukraine’s policy. Ukraine needs Europe and a European course,” Arbuzov said while speaking at a business forum during a European Partnership summit in Vilnius on Thursday.
“We have done a lot to be here. We will be working today, and I am sure about our mission’s successful work,” Arbuzov said.
Ukraine has applied as much effort as it could on its path toward European integration, he said.
Ukraine realized that the European integration process and transformations involved would not be easy, and therefore it would hold negotiations at the Eastern Partnership summit in a format that would enable it to find a way out of the situation, Arbuzov said.
“A lot of work has been done,” Arbuzov said. “We will certainly be fighting for our right and for the decision we have made,” he said.
During Arbuzov’s speech, six people in the rear of the hall led by Open Policy Foundation President Ihor Zhdanov displayed banners saying ‘Freedom is More Important than Russian Gas’ and ‘Arbuzov, Don’t Kill Our Dream’. Following some confusion, the forum organizers asked these people to leave the hall, and they did so without objections.
