If the European Union did not flash positive signals on Ukraine's membership soon, it would send a message to Russia that it could influence policy by military actions, a Ukrainian minister warned here on Thursday.
Visiting Deputy Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Yelisieiev urged EU leaders to wake up to the current political situation in Caucasus region.
"The situation in Georgia is a real threat to Ukrainian security. Georgia shows that we need to move quickly," Yelisieiev told reporters.
"If the summit is not a success, it will send negative signals to Georgia, Belarus and Moldova and will send encouraging signals to Russia that it can influence EU policy," he said.
He referred the "success" of the EU-Ukraine summit on Sept. 9 in Evian, France to an "association" deal with the European bloc, which covers a free trade area and the possibility to open up a dialogue on visa-free travel to the 27-nation EU.
"Everybody in our region is looking to what will happen at the European summit," he said.
Yelisieiev noted that Ukraine was not seeking for automatic or immediate membership, but just a political signal that the future of the former Soviet republic lies in the EU.
He criticized the EU's European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), which governs the current bilateral ties, saying, "The events in Georgia have shown that the ENP has completely failed. We have been saying for years that the ENP is nothing."
Yelisieiev has acted as Ukraine's chief negotiator on a new EU deal on relations.
Source:Xinhua
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