Zelenskyy: We expect start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations in near future

The head of state said that he held a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He expressed his gratitude for the condolences and solidarity shown to Ukrainians following Russia’s brutal strike on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy reminded that Kyiv was the main target of the attack. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing.

During the conversation, the Ukrainian president and the European Commission president discussed diplomatic efforts to stop the killings and Russian aggression in general, as well as to ensure genuine security for Ukrainians.

Zelenskyy emphasized that as long as Russia does not take real steps toward peace, pressure on it must be increased. In particular, von der Leyen spoke about preparing a new sanctions package and coordinating with other partners.

"We also discussed our path toward European integration, including the simultaneous opening of a negotiation cluster for Ukraine and Moldova. We expect a positive decision in the near future," Zelenskyy stressed.

Accession negotiations

The European Union cannot start accession negotiations with Ukraine solely due to Hungary’s position. Budapest has vetoed the start of the talks.

However, on August 27, it became known that Lithuania proposed a plan to begin accession negotiations without Hungary’s consent.

According to Vilnius’s idea, a technical launch of the negotiations could be carried out at the level of the EU’s 26 member states.

At the same time, on August 28, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Taras Kachka, visited Budapest and discussed with Hungary’s Minister for EU Affairs, János Bóka, the possibility of starting the accession negotiations.