Zelensky: Ukraine may become a candidate for EU membership within weeks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally handed a full poll on European Union membership to the bloc's envoy on Monday, and said he believed the move would lead to his country obtaining membership candidate status within weeks.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the poll to Zelensky during her visit to Kyiv on April 8 and pledged a faster start to Ukraine's bid to join the European Union after Russia's invasion of the country.

Video footage released by the Ukrainian government showed that Zelensky presented the completed document to the European Union's envoy to Ukraine.

"We strongly believe that this measure (granting candidate status) will take place in the coming weeks, and it will be positive for the history of our people, given the price they paid on the path to independence and democracy," the Ukrainian president said during the meeting.

The deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office said his country expected to obtain the status of a candidate country to join the European Union in June at a meeting of the European Council.

He added that the European Commission would have to issue a recommendation on Ukraine's compliance with the necessary membership criteria.

As a candidate country, Ukraine will begin negotiations on the harmonization of its laws with the legal framework of the European Union.

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