Biden says Ukraine "very likely" to join EU

US President Biden predicted on June 20 that Ukraine is “very likely” to join the European Union — but added that he probably won’t visit the war-torn country anytime soon to show support.

“I think that’s very likely to happen,” Biden told reporters in Delaware about the possibility of EU membership for Kyiv after the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, voted on June 17 to make Ukraine an EU candidate, New York Post reports.

However, when asked whether he’s planning to visit Ukraine, Biden replied “that depends” on “a lot of things relating to whether or not it causes more difficulty for the Ukrainians, whether it distracts from what’s going on.”

Biden went on to note that “I have been meeting with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky – I talk to him three, four times a week.”

Biden then said that he’s “not likely” to visit Ukraine as part of upcoming trips to Germany, Spain, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

EU candidate status can last for years. For example, North Macedonia has been a candidate since 2005 and Montenegro has been a candidate since 2010. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999 and it’s unclear if it ever will be admitted.

Zelensky applied for EU membership four days after the Russian invasion began in February and requested a fast-tracked process.