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Ukraine reiterates commitment to European integration

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reiterated here Monday his country's commitment to moving toward integration with the European Union (EU).

"The prospect of membership in the EU is a strategic orienting point for our changes, it is a key goal for us," Poroshenko said during the 17th EU-Ukraine Summit.

Poroshenko voiced his hope that within five years Kiev will fulfill the prerequisites needed to apply for the EU membership.

The EU-Ukraine summit, the first one in the framework of the EU- Ukraine Association Agreement, was also attended by European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Speaking during a press conference after the summit, Juncker said the comprehensive political association and economic integration deal between Ukraine and EU will come into force next year.

"I would like to confirm that the European Commission and the European Council want to see that our Association Agreement will fully enter into force on Jan. 1, 2016," Juncker said.

The Association Agreement was signed by the EU and Ukraine in June of 2014. The implementation of the deal, which removes tariffs on around 90 percent of the goods traded between the two sides, was delayed by the EU last September. Endite