President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the position of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on Ukraine's membership in the European Union, stressing that if, in his opinion, Ukraine has no place in the European Union, he should say it directly.
The head of state said this in an interview with Nieuwsuur, Ukrainian News Agency said.
"I think I spoke to him yesterday (in phone call mode). I think in general people can have warm relationships if they are open and honest with each other. I was honest with Mark (Rutte). I told him about the same thing you just told me. "Thank you for your speech. You're really helping us and I'm really grateful for that. But for the EU, you kept silent about everything we just wanted to hear." I told him very frankly: "If you think that we have no place in the EU, then you have to say it directly," Zelenskyy answered a journalist's question about whether the President was disappointed by the fact that during a speech in the Ukrainian parliament Rutte called Ukraine part of a European family, but did not say anything about EU membership.
In a phone call, Rutte said he believed "there is definitely a place for Ukraine in the EU, but certain steps have to be taken," he said.
At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that he and Rutte have rather warm relations.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Rutte said that he believes that the likelihood that Ukraine will soon become a candidate for membership in the European Union is small.
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