"Regardless, it will happen anyway": Ukrainian Foreign Minister on EU accession

If the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU is postponed during the EU summit on December 14-15, it will be a blow to the bloc, but sooner or later it will be made anyway, stated Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a media interview following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

Kuleba said that EU members emphasized in their speeches that the decision on accession "should be made not for the sake of Ukraine, but for the sake of the European Union itself, its security and prosperity."

"If such a decision is not made, it will be a blow to the EU," the Foreign Minister emphasized.

According to the minister, Ukraine agrees with these assessments and continues to work at all levels with all those involved to ensure consensus on this.

Kuleba emphasized that regardless of the desire of some members of the bloc, "in any case, this decision will still take place."

"You cannot stop the course of history, and history is moving very simply – Ukraine will be a member of the European Union. It is only a matter of time and price. And our task is to make the price as low as possible and the time as short as possible," he said.

On November 8, the European Commission recommended starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on joining the bloc.

At the summit of EU leaders on December 14–15, 2023, several issues related to Ukraine will be discussed at once. The first of them is the start of negotiations on joining the EU, as well as the provision of 50 billion euros of economic support and the allocation of another 20 billion euros for the Ukrainian army.

On December 11, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Hungarian colleague Peter Sijarto for the first time since the beginning of the Great War. Kuleba said that at the summit of the European Council, which will be held on December 14-15, Western leaders will consider four issues related to Ukraine and its European integration.

In the guest box of the Parliament of Argentina, President Zelenskyy met and spoke briefly with the Prime Minister of Hungary Orbán.

Also, according to Euractiv, the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union may be postponed until March 2024 due to Hungary's position.