Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara has said he believes that the Association Agreement with the EU could be signed at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in November 2013.
“I’m an optimist, and I believe that we have all the prerequisites to sign the agreement this year at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius,” the minister said at the expert forum “Ukraine 2013. Forecasts” in Kyiv on Monday.
Kozhara said that during the last week’s meeting with European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych clearly stated that the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU is a priority and a key task for Ukraine to achieve in November this year.
“We’re willing to have a meaningful conversation on this subject at the EU-Ukraine summit in two weeks,” the minister said.
He also said that Ukraine considers the EU to be the most influential association on the continent and a role model in holding internal reforms.
“This reflects the meaning of our European integration policy. We consider the association agreement with the EU as a powerful external instrument of internal reforms,” Kozhara said.
