Upon arrival at the European Council meeting in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would like to discuss with EU leaders the next steps after the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the bloc, as well as urgent issues such as air defense, noting that some of what has been agreed upon is urgently needed on the battlefield, UNN reports.
Details
"First of all, I thank you and, of course, all the EU leaders for this historic result (of the start of accession negotiations - ed.). We have been waiting for this for a long time... And everyone, civilians and, of course, our heroes on the battlefield, you know how much we want to be in the EU. Now we see this strong, historic step forward. And thank you very much for this support and for this result - the start of negotiations," Zelensky said.
The President emphasized that "this is very important for all of us, for the whole of Ukraine.
"And, of course, we have to work on the next steps. You always say that we are too fast, but we need (it), so we will discuss this with the leaders today, our next steps," Zelensky said. - And, of course, there are urgent things. Air defense is one thing. And, of course, all these packages, thanks to all the partners, are things that we have signed or accepted, but we urgently need them on the battlefield. Some of these military packages.
The Head of State also expressed gratitude for the decision on Russian frozen assets, "which we can use and have - these 50 billion euros". "This is very important," he said.
Zelensky also touched on the issue of sanctions.
"And we started to discuss, I think, the moment of certain risks with some sanctions that we see, especially with some Russian oligarchs, you know, that sanctions were imposed against these oligarchs (...) And now we see the risk that some sanctions will be lifted. And so I also want to discuss this with our partners," he said.
Суд ЄС зняв санкції з російського олігарха Пумп'янського26.06.24, 14:53
"And I want to discuss with the leaders our next step (after the inaugural Peace Summit - ed.) in preparing for the second summit," Zelensky said.
В Офісі президента повідомили про плани роботи на другий день Саміту миру16.06.24, 12:42