You're reading: Kyiv wants to sign association agreement with EU during Poland’s presidency

Lviv, May 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv hopes to sign an association agreement with the European Union by the end of this year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko has said.

"We are working on signing an association agreement with the European Union, including [an agreement on] a free trade zone, by the end of the current year, which means during Poland’s presidency of the European Union," Hryschenko said at a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Lviv on Monday.

Hryschenko said this concerns a negotiation process. He noted that Ukraine would make every effort for the agreement to be signed by the end of the year.

According to Hryschenko, the foreign ministers at the meeting also discussed the issue of preparations for hosting the Euro 2012 European Football Championship.

The ministers also visited the construction site of a new terminal at Lviv International Airport.

Sikorski praised the construction work being done on the airport’s new terminal.

"I’m impressed by the scale and rate of construction," he said.

In addition, the Ukrainian and Polish foreign ministers on Monday opened a new Polish Consulate General building in Lviv, and visited facilities being prepared for Euro 2012.