Kuleba Says Ukraine 'Optimistic' About Opening EU Accession Talks This Year

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on November 2 that Kyiv was confident about its quest to open EU membership talks this year, touting reforms it made even in the face of the Russian invasion. Speaking in Berlin, Kuleba told reporters that Ukraine was on track to fulfill its obligations to open accession negotiations. "We are optimistic. We did a lot of reforms and we passed legislation necessary to meet, to implement the recommendations," he said. Ukraine applied for EU membership just days after Russia's invasion in February 2022 and received candidacy status several months later.