Ukrainian, EU leaders meet on cooperation, Kiev's European integration

KIEV, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday discussed cooperation and Kiev's European integration, Zelensky's press service reported.

Speaking after the talks, which took place in Kiev ahead of the Ukraine-European Union summit, Zelensky said the visit of von der Leyen and other EU officials to Ukraine marks an important milestone in Ukraine's European integration.

Zelensky said he received a report from von der Leyen on the second part of the questionnaire that Ukraine had filled out to become a candidate for EU membership.

"This is good news. This report will become the basis for the work of our government," he said.

At their meeting, Zelensky and von der Leyen talked about trade liberalization between Ukraine and the EU, financial cooperation, and energy security.

The two sides also touched upon the issues of Ukraine's post-conflict reconstruction and new sanctions against Russia.

The Ukraine-EU summit, scheduled to take place in Kiev on Friday, will discuss economic, financial, social, energy and humanitarian issues.

Preparations for the next phase of Ukraine's integration with the EU will also be a topic of the summit, according to the presidential press service.

In June 2022, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc.