Poroshenko says Ukraine ready to seek EU membership in 5 years

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday that Ukraine would meet the necessary requirements to apply for European Union membership within five years.

Poroshenko’s remarks came at the beginning of the EUUkraine Summit held in Kiev; it is the 17th bilateral summit, the last was in 2013, and so the first since the signing of the UkraineEU Association Agreement last June after the ouster of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who had refused to sign.

Ukraine’s accession to the EU is “a key objective” and a “strategic aspiration,” the president affirmed.

Ukraine expects permanent and significant support from the EU, including the exemption from visas for Ukrainian citizens.

The summit’s agenda will focus on solving the conflict between the Ukrainian government and proRussia separatist militias in eastern Ukraine, which so far has claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people, both civilians and combatants, according to recent figures.

The summit will also tackle political and economic reforms, in addition to putting the Association Agreement, signed between Brussels and Kiev, into effect.