It is impossible to see Ukraine in the EU - Slovak Foreign Minister

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said that he could not imagine Ukraine in the EU while it was at war. In his opinion, the European integration path will be long.

"This is a really serious question. Well, in the current circumstances, I cannot imagine it. I wonder how, for example, Ms. (President of the European Commission - ed.) Ursula von der Leyen will justify the proposal for Ukraine's membership or the start of negotiations on membership in the European Union and answer the question of how we can start negotiations with a country that is in a military conflict," the diplomat said.

At the same time, he does not deny that Ukraine should have a European integration perspective, but it must also fulfill all the criteria, and "no exceptions are accepted.

"I believe that Ukraine is very, very far from EU membership. We refuse to approach this politically, and the only thing we support is that Ukraine should have a perspective in the future, but according to all the rules, as other countries do," Blanar said.

"From our side, this is a positive signal for Ukraine. If you want, we offer a place for negotiations, but you have a very long way to go," he emphasized.

At the same time, the Slovak Foreign Minister reiterated that his country condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We agree that we want Ukraine to be democratic. We agree that there should be peace in Ukraine. And that Ukraine should be integral in terms of territory, because we condemn the violation of international law through the violation of integrity," Blanard said.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 06/12/2023