Lithuanian ambassador: No Plan B for Association with Ukraine

The EU has no other "Plan B", which could be implemented in respect of Ukraine in case of failure - not signing the association agreement this fall in Vilnius, Ambassador of Lithuania in Ukraine Petras Vaitiekūnas said in interview.

According to him, Ukraine should get down to reforms, which are needed for the signing of the Agreement. "Their implementation shouldn’t be delayed until the last moment. Time passes, it is crucial. The EU has no other "Plan B", which could be implemented in respect of Ukraine in case of failure. There is no alternative option. It’s time for Ukraine to show not will to address and find solutions, but the solutions themselves, and only then will open the way forward," he said.

He noted that Lithuania supports Ukraine and works with the EU. "We are strengthening Ukraine's circle of friends, who understand the importance of signing of the Association Agreement with the EU in Vilnius in October. We also work within the EU, so it is clear for everybody that this is not just a question of Ukraine's development, but also of the success of the EU with its eastern partners," the ambassador said.

The ambassador of Lithuania said that he optimistically assesses Ukraine's chances to overcome the "last obstacles, which separate it from the association with the EU."

"They include reforms, envisaged in the agenda of the EU- Ukraine Association, covering the reform of the judicial system, including prosecutors, a reliable electoral legislation and issues relating to the electoral justice," he recalled.

"A lot depends on Ukraine itself, on its citizens ... How much people are willing to finally stop on the European choice and not to look for other options of integration, or even a third way between the competing systems - the European Union and the Eurasian Union," he said, adding that the EU was surprised that Ukraine had signed a memorandum with the countries of the Customs Union.

"We would like our relations with Ukraine to be more cooperative, based on trustworthy cooperation. If the country wants to do something like that, it needs to consult, inform each other and to discuss with its partners in the EU and Brussels in advance of such a step," he noted. He added that the simultaneous signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union and participation in the Customs Union, "in my opinion, exclude one another".

The Ambassador stressed that Ukraine should determine its choice. Moreover, he believes that the European option, among other things, will make relations between Ukraine and Russia more stable.