Kuleba wants to discuss future of Eastern Partnership with EU

"In its current form, the Eastern Partnership is not a format that can efficiently meet the national interests of the Ukrainian state. Therefore, we will talk to the European Union about the future of the Eastern Partnership, but we will not enter into this dialogue until we synchronize our vision with parliamentarians," Kuleba said a joint meeting of the Verkhovna Rada committees on Ukraine's integration into the European Union and on foreign policy and inter-parliamentary cooperation, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The minister added that he would take part in the next meeting of the parliamentary committee and hoped for a substantive conversation.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine how the Eastern Partnership can function in its current format against the background of the events in Belarus, against the background of the recent armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Ukraine's opinion, we should focus on solving our national tasks of European integration, we should clearly coordinate positions with those countries that share the goals of European integration," Kuleba stressed.

As noted, the foreign ministers of Moldova and Georgia recently visited Kyiv, together with whom the Associated Trio was established in Kyiv to coordinate actions on the track of European integration, including the neighborhood policy and the Eastern Partnership format.

"We should reap the maximum strategic benefits for Ukraine from European integration, and this process should be structured in such a way as not to distract the European Union from achieving Ukraine's strategic goal of EU membership," Kuleba added.

As reported, the ministers of foreign affairs of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova – Dmytro Kuleba, David Zalkaliani, and Aureliu Ciocoi signed the memorandum on the establishment of the Associated Trio for joint successful European integration in Kyiv on May 17.

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