“Of course, as you know, the path to joining the EU is a marathon, not a sprint,” TASS quoted him as saying at a meeting of the European Parliament.
He recalled that all decisions on this process should be taken unanimously by the European Council based on an assessment of Ukraine's progress on the path of reforms.
In August, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council, said that Ukraine and Georgia "will not see" membership in the EU and NATO.
On November 6, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna expressed confidence that Ukraine would be able to complete the process of joining the European Union by the end of 2024.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said that the European Union is currently not ready to accept new members, in particular Ukraine, into its ranks.