Zelensky to announce news on EU membership negotiations

Kiev, July 1: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will announce news regarding his country's European Union (EU) membership negotiations on Friday.

In a video address to the nation late Thursday, the President said: "Our priority, which will also be a task that all representatives of our country will have to complete as quickly as possible, is to prepare for the beginning of the negotiations on (our EU) membership.

"Government officials, deputies and diplomats need to work on this 24 hours a day, seven days a week... Tomorrow there will be news on this issue. Ukraine's European integration cannot be stopped."

At a summit in Brussels on June 23, EU leaders approved the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status to join the 27-member bloc, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

The following day, Zelensky urged people to focus for now on the fact that Ukraine has been granted EU candidate status, rather than on how much still needs to be done in order to join.