The indecisiveness of the leaders of the European Union on the issue of starting negotiations with Ukraine on the country’s accession to the EU could become a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated this while speaking via video link at the European Council in Brussels.
According to the Ukrainian leader, since the beginning of 2023, Russia has not achieved significant achievements either on the battlefield or in the international arena. Zelensky called on European leaders to also prevent Russia from winning due to its inability to make a decision at the summit in Brussels.
“Today is the day when determination will be either in Brussels or in Moscow. People in Europe will not understand if the “reward” for a meeting in Brussels is a satisfied smile from Putin,” said the President of Ukraine.
Zelensky stressed that on the eve of the summit with some EU leaders, he “didn’t hear a single counter-argument, why don’t we implement a plan agreed upon by all of Europe.”
The President of Ukraine noted that the country has fulfilled all obligations for joining the EU. The result of the summit, he believes, should be a decision on consent to the plan for Ukraine to begin moving into the European Union, which was previously approved by the European Commission.
Zelensky in address remindedthat during the Euromaidan of 2014, Ukrainians protested en masse against the refusal of the then President of Ukraine to integrate the country into Europe. “10 years ago in Ukraine, people rose under the flags of the European Union. To them it was a symbol of truth, and it should remain so. I ask you one thing today – do not betray the people and their faith in Europe,” he said.
It is expected that during the summit, EU leaders will decide whether to begin negotiations with Ukraine on its accession to the EU before the end of the year and whether to allocate macro-financial assistance to the country in the amount of 50 billion euros from the bloc’s budget.
Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops and soon received the status of a candidate for accession. At the beginning of November 2023, the European Commission recommended starting negotiations with Ukraine on accession to the EU. The decision must be approved by all countries participating in the bloc.
The Hungarian authorities are against the start of negotiations with Ukraine. The country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is considered Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe, also said that Ukraine would not win on the battlefield and called on the European Union to change its strategy regarding the war.
Listen to the What Happened podcast episode about Viktor Orbán’s politics
Viktor Orban first established autocracy in Hungary and is now expanding his influence to other Western countries. How does he use the war in Ukraine for this? And what does he want in the end?
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2023-12-14 14:29:45
