UA
FR
DEThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed disappointment with the stance of Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, who believes that Ukraine should not be offered membership in the European Union.
“We are disappointed with the statements by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria on the European future of Ukraine. We consider them to be strategically short-sighted and not in the interests of united Europe,” said Ukraine’s MFA Spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko.
According to him, such statements ignore the fact that the majority of the population of the EU founding states supports Ukraine’s membership. He also pointed out that the Ukrainian people now pay too high a price for the mistakes of many European governments and their biased perception of reality.
“It seems that the current war, casualties and destruction are not enough for them. To continue postponing Ukraine’s EU membership or seeking an alternative to it under various pretexts means indulging Putin’s aggressive plans and slowing down the strengthening of the European Union by joining Ukraine’s capabilities,” Nikolenko said.
He stressed that Ukraine has every reason to demand objective recognition of its merits and strategic role for the EU because it is thanks to the indomitable will of the Ukrainian people that Europe can live in peace today.
The day before, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that Ukraine should not be offered EU membership. In particular, he believes that Ukraine should not receive a country candidate status in June. The diplomat justified his position by saying that there are states in the Western Balkans that have come a longer way towards candidate status.
In addition, the minister is convinced that Ukraine, in principle, should not become a member of the European Union. He called for a “different way” for Ukraine rather than full membership.
Bohdan Marusyak
