Ukraine has long been part of Europe, now waiting for completion of technical procedures for EU membership - Zelensky
He stated this at a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv on Sunday, May 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"Regarding Ukraine's membership in Europe, no one but our close friends [Poles] understands so precisely that Ukraine has long been in the European Union and has long been part of Europe. And, indeed, without loud words about values, we think and believe the same way, and we defend our freedom and independence," Zelensky said.
He stressed that bureaucratic and technical issues are needed to gain official membership, and Ukrainians need powerful ambassadors to overcome them. Zelensky calls Poland one of such ambassadors.
"We think that this [Ukraine's membership in the EU] will definitely happen. We are waiting for our EU candidate status in June," Zelensky said.
As reported, on May 9, Ukraine submitted the second part of the questionnaire to obtain the status of a candidate country for accession to the European Union.
On April 18, President Volodymyr Zelensky handed over the first part of the questionnaire to Matti Maasikas, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine. The questionnaire was submitted to the Ukrainian side personally by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Kyiv on April 8.
Zelensky signed the application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union on February 28, 2022.
