EU getting ready to introduce visa free travel with Ukraine

High Representative of the European Union Catherine Ashton has said that a new active phase in the dialogue on visa free travel between Kyiv and Brussels has started and is likely to see its first results by the EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for this fall.

Ashton said this on Tuesday in Luxembourg at a press conference held after the meeting of the Ukraine-EU Cooperation Council attended by Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

"On June 9, at the ministerial meeting, we agreed to move to what we describe as a fully operational phase of visa dialog. It means it will be based on an Action Plan that will take us towards visa liberalization. It's a really important step," Ashton said.

She expressed hope the two sides would be able to demonstrate their adherence to their commitments by the time of the Ukraine-EU summit.