EU reaffirms Ukraine’s accession only within international borders

The European Commission has not confirmed that the negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU will be conducted without taking into account some of its territories, said the EU lead spokesperson for external affairs at a briefing in Brussels.

“The EU position is quite clear, and it is repeated in all European documents. The EU supports Ukraine's accession within its internationally recognised borders and is ready to assist Ukraine in restoring them for as long as it takes,” he said in response to questions from Ukrainian journalists, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

He declined to comment on the possibility of Ukraine's admission to NATO without restoring the borders recognised by the West.

On 28 February 2022, Ukraine applied for EU membership. On 17 June 2022, the European Commission presented its conclusions on the applications submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. Based on the Commission's opinion, on 23 June 2022 Ukraine was granted a European perspective by unanimous agreement of the leaders of all 27 EU Member States.

Almost eight years after the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia launched on 24 February 2022 a large-scale military invasion of the whole country. The destruction and suffering are devastating. Over 8 million people have fled to neighbouring countries and there are millions of internally displaced persons within the country. Ukraine is bravely fighting for the survival of its democracy and national sovereignty.

By Khagan Isayev