You're reading: NATO summit discusses Ukraine’s European integration (updated)

The European integration of Ukraine was one of the key issues discussed during the meetings of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at the NATO summit in Chicago.

"The other meetings, including the one with the president of Poland, were dedicated to the issue of European integration, the Euro 2012 European Football Championship and cooperation, as this is the most important event for us this year," the Ukrainian president told reporters in Chicago on May 21.

In addition, the president stressed that participation in summits gives opportunities to hold informal meetings, which are beneficial for cooperation."Apart from the official meetings [at the NATO summit] I held many informal meetings with my colleagues from other countries, and this is very important. Any contacts always contribute to the interests of our country and the settlement of many issues," Yanukovych said.

When asked whether the issue of democracy in Ukraine was discussed at such meetings, the president said: "We’re always talking about it [democracy], round the clock."

In this video German Chancellor Angela Merkel refused to greet Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovych during the NATO summit.