Issue of Netherlands' refusal to ratify EU-Ukraine association agreement not closed - Poroshenko
KYIV. Oct 31 (Interfax) - The Netherlands has not stopped ratification of the association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union and will continue consultations whose deadline has been set for November 1, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
"The deadline for consultations regarding the ratification of the EU-Ukraine association agreement based on the results of the referendum in Holland has been set for November 1. Many skeptics, and not just in Ukraine, expected that it is today that a decision would be announced about the Netherlands having stopped ratification of the agreement," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook on Monday.
There have been intense talks with EU partners in the past few days, he said. About ten telephone talks have been held, including with European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Ukrainian president said.
"It is important for everyone to remember that the association agreement, the preparation of which I have the honor to be personally part of, has not only an economic and political meaning, but also a symbolic one. Because it is an embodiment of Ukraine's development and movement forward and a compass for our reforms. So it is very important that the Netherlands has not stopped ratification and will continue consultations," Poroshenko wrote.
His press office said later that Poroshenko spoke by telephone with Rutte. "Mark Rutte said the Netherlands has not stopped ratification of the EU-Ukraine association agreement and will continue consultations," the press office said.
