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Ukrainian, Slovak presidents meet to discuss Ukraine's European integration

Xinhua, May 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the prospects for his country's European integration when he met with visiting President of Slovakia Andrej Kiska here Wednesday ahead of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit.

During the meeting, Poroshenko said that his country is expecting a "clear signal" on visa liberalization with the European Union (EU) at the May 21-22 summit scheduled to be held in Riga, Latvia.

"The political decision on granting the visa-free regime to Ukraine must be clearly fixed and there should be a comprehensible list of technical issues, which Ukraine needs to fulfill," Poroshenko said.

Ukrainian leader reiterated his country's commitment to moving toward deeper political and economic integration with the EU and voiced his hope that during the forthcoming summit the 28-member block will approve a new loan of 1.9 billion U.S. dollars for Kiev.

For his part, Kiska said that Slovakia supports the process of broadening the EU and stands ready to advocate Ukraine's European integration aspirations.

"Ukraine has a right and a chance to become a member of the EU, " Kiska said.

The 4th Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga will focus on deepening political and economic ties between the EU and its eastern partner countries, namely Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Endite