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National flags of European Union countries. Ukraine was angry after Austria belittled him to join the European Union. Photo/Julien Warnand/Pool via REUTERS
Austria’s comments were made by Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. Ukraine was disappointed by the statement, which was considered narrow-sighted.
On Saturday, Schallenberg, while acknowledging that deepening ties with Ukraine is necessary as the EU exports the Western “way of life”, said that models other than full EU membership should be considered for Ukraine.
He cited joining the European Economic Area or an association agreement as an option.
In response to these comments, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko issued a stern statement on Sunday.
“We are disappointed by the statement by the Austrian Federal Foreign Minister about the future of Europe in Ukraine. We consider them to be strategically narrow-minded and not in the interests of a united Europe,” Nikolenko was quoted as saying Russia Today, Monday (25/4/2022).
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He added that Schallenberg ignored the positive view of a large part of the European Union’s founding member population towards Ukraine’s membership.
Referring to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba’s remarks, Nikolenko said that Ukraine had paid an “too high price” for the mistakes of European countries.
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