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Kyiv (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine is ready to support and to use all the elements of the Eastern Partnership program if it is not presented as an alternative to European Union membership, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said.

The Foreign Ministry said this in a commentary concerning the new concept of EU relations with its eastern neighbors, which was initiated by Poland and Sweden.

"We hail the joint initiative of Poland and Sweden aimed at the formation of an effective eastern vector of EU foreign policy. The formation of a single area of stability, security and prosperity in the east of the continent, which rests on European political, economic and social norms and standards, is a common objective both for Ukraine and the European Union as well as for other partner-states," the Foreign Ministry said.

Ukraine sees the aim of the Eastern Partnership as assisting the effective political association and economic integration of the European Union and its partner-states.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry stressed that the ambitious framework of the eastern partnership requires adequate sources of financing.

"The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is also waiting for the Eastern Partnership to be approved by the EU member states, taking into account Ukraine's position," the statement reads.