AJC Applauds EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

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Sep 16, 2014, 12:32 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC applauds the simultaneous ratification by the European and Ukrainian Parliaments today of an association agreement that will bring Ukraine economically closer to the West and could set the stage for eventual EU membership.

"We salute Ukraine's leadership for standing firm amidst current challenges in pursuing this long-sought pact with the EU," said AJC Executive Director David Harris, who was in Kiev last week with a senior AJC leadership delegation, including AJC President Stanley Bergman. "Ratification of the association agreement is a major step forward in realizing Ukraine's clearly-expressed aspirations for an ever closer association with the EU."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine "has embarked on the European path and nobody will dare to shut the door to EU membership for Ukraine."

The AJC delegation met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, top representatives of the National Security Services, and the American, German, and Israeli ambassadors to Ukraine. It was the third AJC leadership visit to Kiev in the last six months alone.

"It is critically important that the world, particularly the U.S. and EU, continue to support Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity," said Harris. "This is truly a defining moment in global affairs, and the most recent step taken by the EU should be viewed in that context."

Since 1991, AJC has steadfastly supported an independent Ukraine aligned with democratic values and free to chart its own destiny. In May 2014, AJC's Director of Russian Affairs, Sam Kliger, relocated to Kiev to serve as AJC's representative in Ukraine.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee