President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that the first step towards the membership of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in the European Union should be the recognition of the European perspective of these states in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union.
"Ukraine has made significant progress on this path, having already put the support of several states on paper. I also suggested that President Michel bring the issue of the European perspective for consideration by the European Council," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement to the media following a meeting in Batumi with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and President of the European Council Charles Michel.
The Ukrainian President stressed that the three countries had gathered for the first time in the format of an "Associated Trio" and expressed confidence that it would be an important step towards the European integration of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
"We have declared at the highest level our common goal - full membership in the EU. It is important that our countries are united not only by the ultimate goal on this difficult path, but also by the desire and willingness to walk this path together. The support of President of the European Council Charles Michel and the willingness to promote further rapprochement of associate partners with the EU provides inspiration and confidence that this goal is totally achievable," he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that at the meeting in Batumi the parties had agreed on the approaches to holding the Eastern Partnership Summit, which should be ambitious and fully take into account the aspirations of the "Associated Trio".
"The success of the Eastern Partnership depends on our ability to define its strategic goals and strengthen its geopolitical importance in Eastern Europe. It is in this way that we will work on the Summit declaration. We are ready for bold approaches and we call on our partners in the EU to do the same,” he said.
