Czech Foreign Minister: Ukraine should be in EU, but after fulfilling all requirements
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky is convinced that Ukraine will become a member of the European Union, but only after it fulfills all the necessary conditions
He said this on CNN Prima NEWS, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
According to the Czech minister, some states are skeptical about Ukraine's accession to the EU, and he is trying to explain the benefits to such countries.
At the same time, the Foreign Minister emphasized that it is important that Ukraine fulfills all the conditions.
"We must demand this. There can be no concessions. We have a single market and rules. In the Czech Republic, we are constantly dealing with some laws from Brussels, and sometimes it is a hassle. Ukraine needs to go through the same thing, and then we will work together," the diplomat emphasized.
During the broadcast, he got into an argument with deputy Jiri Kobza, who said that he "cannot imagine that ... a country torn apart by civil war would join the European Union." According to Kobza, there are two wars going on in Ukraine: The "civil" war in Donbas, which has been going on since 2014, and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Lipavsky responded to this: "There is no civil war in Ukraine. I'm sorry, but this is a really stupid lie. Ukraine has been attacked by Russia". He also emphasized that it was Russian imperial aggression from the very beginning.
As reported earlier, during his recent visit to Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel said that he intends to personally advocate for the EU-Ukraine membership negotiations to begin this year.