Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal this Thursday expressed confidence in joining the European Union (EU) and NATO in less than 10 years, in statements at the end of the Conference on Ukraine’s Recovery in London.
Shmyhal added that by the end of this year, the country plans to implement all directives and seven European recommendations and complete the self-assessment procedures of Ukrainian law based on European law and directives.
“We will be absolutely ready for the negotiations and for the EU accession procedures. I think we are moving very fast and we are not thinking about decades or 10 years,” he told journalists.
As for joining NATO, the head of government stressed the importance not only for the country, but also for the rest of Europe, responding to a question as to whether he thought the process would take a decade or more.
“Ukraine’s accession to NATO is crucial for future European security. Therefore, I think the process will not take as long as you said, but much faster,” he predicted.
Shmyhal hopes that at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12, “the Allies will be very concrete in the terms and dates of their messages.”
“I must say that the Ukrainian army is now a NATO army. We fight with NATO weapons, we fight according to NATO standards, our army is trained in the NATO countries. The Ukrainian army is now absolutely prepared according to NATO standards”, argued.
Also asked about the progress of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the prime minister repeated the words of the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that it will not be easy or fast.
In the past two weeks, the Ukrainian army has liberated eight villages, covering an area of more than 113 square kilometers, and advanced seven kilometers in the front line, which it considers “good results”.
“For us every life is very important,” he stressed, adding that Ukraine fights according to NATO standards.
“We have saved all our soldiers and we will conduct very intelligent offensive operations and therefore it may take some time, but we intend to move forward. We must all be patient and we will see results,” he stressed.
The International Conference on the Recovery of Ukraine (URC 2023), which kicked off Wednesday and ends Thursday in London, sought to raise donations and support for the country’s reconstruction after Russia’s military invasion that began in 2022.
URC 2023 had over a thousand registered participants from at least 60 countries, around 40 of them at the ministerial level, as well as leaders from international organisations, civil society representatives and business leaders.
Source: DN
