Kiev to Implement Association Agreement, Request EU Membership in 5 Years

Ukraine plans to implement the Association Agreement with the European Union and meet the requirements to apply for the membership in the bloc within 5 years, President Petro Poroshenko said Monday.

KIEV (Sputnik) – Poroshenko called on the EU to grant Ukraine membership in the bloc.

"I call on the European Union, supporting the European aspirations of the Ukrainian people, to recognize that Ukraine, as any other European state which respects and is ready to defend European values, may become a future member of the European Union, of course, on condition that all the necessary criteria are met."

"We declare that in five years we must ensure the effective implementation of the Association Agreement and to achieve the necessary conditions to apply for membership in the European Union," Poroshenko said at the opening of the Ukraine-EU summit in Kiev.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, part of the EU delegation in Kiev, did not rule out Ukraine's admission to the European Union in the future, but underscored that he could not say when it would happen.

There is no alternative to solving the crisis in eastern Ukraine except for a diplomatic settlement, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Monday.

"Ukraine is sure that there are no alternatives to the diplomatic settlement of the situation in Donbass, it has suggested and will suggest in the future all possible efforts in this direction, including the complete and unconditional fulfillment of the Minsk agreements," Poroshenko said during the opening of the Ukraine-EU Summit in Kiev.

"Taking into consideration the unprecedented character of actual threats, we neet to find an actual form of reacting to them together. Being thankful for the principle position and the exertion of great effort, we hope for the future strengthening of the European Union’s leading role in the process of a peaceful settlement to the situation in Donbass."