Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit Ukraine on July 1 at President Volodymyr Zelensky's invitation, the President's Office announced on June 29.
The trip will take place on the first day of Spain's presidency of the EU Council.
"For the first time, the beginning of a country's presidency will be emphasized by a visit to Ukraine. And this actually says a lot about how important the next six months will be for our Europe," Zelensky commented on the upcoming visit.
"This is a historic time to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU. A Europe of values, a free and strong Europe, a Europe of peace is unthinkable without Ukraine."
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022, just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and was granted candidacy status in June 2022. On June 19, Kyiv announced it has met two out of seven conditions to launch the EU accession talks.
Spain, a NATO and EU member, has continuously supported Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, providing training and military equipment, including Leopard 2 tanks.
Madrid has named coordinated support for Ukraine as one of the issues it will advocate for during its presidency.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
