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Leaders of major EU countries, including France and Germany, visited Kiiu, the capital of Ukraine, and had a meeting with President Zelensky.
At a joint press conference, the leaders expressed their intention to support Ukraine's accession to the EU and emphasized unity at the European level.
Correspondent Won Jong-jin.
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leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania, who met with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kiiu, the Ukrainian capital, announced at a joint press conference that they would support Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
[Emanuel Macron/President of France: Our four heads of state support the granting of Ukraine the status of a candidate for immediate EU accession.]
Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, four days after the Russian invasion. It said that it would actively support the granting of candidate country status, which is the first threshold.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is scheduled to present an opinion on the granting of candidate state status to Ukraine on the 17th local time. Ukraine will then be granted candidate state status and enter into negotiations for formal membership.
These European leaders also said they would continue to provide arms support to Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Ukraine would continue to provide arms if needed.
The position expressed by the leaders of continental Europe, who have emphasized problem-solving through dialogue relative to the United States and the United Kingdom, is expected to be of great help to Ukraine, which has recently been pushed back by Russia in the eastern Donbas region.