The final decision on the talks will be made by the European Council in December…reports Asian Lite News
Ukraine got a signal that the talks on its accession to the European Union (EU) may start next month, the Ukrinform news agency reported Tuesday, citing the country’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“Ukraine is moving towards the decision of the European Council in December of this year on the opening of negotiations,” Kuleba told reporters after the meeting with European commissioners in the Belgian capital Brussels.
There is a “general political consensus” among the European Commission members regarding Ukraine’s aspiration to launch the membership talks, Kuleba noted.
On Nov. 8, the European Commission is set to release its recommendation on whether to open the accession negotiations with Ukraine, which received EU candidate status in June 2022.
The final decision on the talks will be made by the European Council in December.
Zelensky questions Trump’s claim
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has questioned Donald Trump’s claim that he could end Russia’s war against Kiev within 24 hours if he is re-elected in 2024.
During an interview with NBC News, Zelensky also invited Trump to Ukraine to physically witness the scale of devastation that Russia’s invasion has caused since it was launched in February 2022.
“If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes – yes, 24 minutes… to explain (to) President Trump that he can’t manage this war. He can’t bring peace because of Putin,” CNN quoted the Ukrainian leader as saying in the interview.
While speaking to CNN in May, the former President has claimed that the war would not have happened if had been been President when Russia’s full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, and that he could settle the conflict in a day if he was reelected.
“If I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours. I’ll meet with Putin. I’ll meet with Zelensky. They both have weaknesses and they both have strengths. And within 24 hours that war will be settled,” he told CNN.
In the NBC News interview, Zelensky also praised US President Joe Biden for visiting Ukraine earlier this year, and said: “I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here. So I invite President Trump.”
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