Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Cyprus for its effective presidency of the Council of the European Union and welcomed Ireland as it assumes the role, expressing hope that Ukraine could open the remaining five EU accession negotiation clusters as early as July.
According to Ukrinform, Zelensky made the remarks on the social media platform X.
"I thank Cyprus for its fruitful and substantive presidency of the Council of the European Union. Over these six months, we managed to open the first cluster and officially launch negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. We activated the European Union's EUR 90 billion financial support package. The 20th package of sanctions against Russia was approved. All these historic steps have made Ukraine and our Europe stronger. I am grateful for such effective work and for our cooperation," he wrote.
Zelensky also noted that Ireland has now begun its presidency of the EU Council.
"We congratulate Ireland and very much hope that not a single month of this six-month period will be lost. Right now, in July, there are strong chances to open the remaining five negotiating clusters. There are no substantive obstacles to this. We also count on just pressure on Russia to expand," he said.
He stressed that thanks to Ukraine's long-range sanctions and medium-range strikes, Russia has become particularly vulnerable, and called for these gains to be reinforced with decisive actions from Europe and other partners.
"It is equally important for the European Union to be as effective as possible in all programs that strengthen Europe, particularly in our joint defense cooperation. Ukraine is ready for active work, because our collective strength and unity are the foundation of our collective security," he added.
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
