EU integration a tool for strengthening Ukraine - Kuleba

European integration is a tool for strengthening Ukraine, which makes Ukrainians more resilient, strong and close to the Western world, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

He said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"We need to change the perception of European integration in Ukraine. This is not a question of whether they give us membership or not. European integration is now a tool for strengthening Ukraine, not a goal," Kuleba said.

Kuleba said Ukraine should continue its European integration course even if the country is denied membership in the European Union.

"Even if someone comes out in Brussels tomorrow and says that Ukraine will never become an EU member, it does not mean that we should curtail reforms, stop implementing European rules and move towards closer integration with the European space, because these rules and integration are strengthening Ukraine from within, making us more resilient, strong and close to the Western world, which has entered into a fierce confrontation with the Chinese world," he said.

Furthermore, Kuleba expects several concrete breakthrough decisions on Ukraine's practical integration to be made at the Ukraine-EU summit on October 12. He said he was convinced that this integration will bring concrete economic benefits to Ukrainian businesses and citizens.

"We are definitely putting pressure on the EU, demanding that they give us a European [membership] perspective. But I think we should realistically assess the end of the struggle and the EU's readiness to include this provision at the summit on October 12. Nevertheless, we will fight for it," Kuleba said.

This year's Ukraine-EU summit will take place in Kyiv on October 12.

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