Paris, Oct. 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – It is important for Ukraine to enlist the support of influential countries in the European Union, particularly France, ahead of the EU-Ukraine summit, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.
"The EU-Ukraine summit requires thorough preparation from us with our major partners in the European Union – the countries that play a key role in its policy," he told reporters in Paris on Thursday after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Yanukovych said that Ukraine praised the relations with France, and added that these relations would be intensified.
"We agreed with President Sarkozy that the intensification of our relations will start, conventionally speaking, with the signing of this roadmap, which we will implement and expand," he said.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych arrives at the Elysee presidential palace for a meeting France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Oct. 7, 2010. (AFP)
An Interfax-Ukraine reporter said that in the presence of Yanukovych and Sarkozy, the foreign ministers of the two countries had signed a roadmap of Ukrainian-French relations for 2011-2012.
France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy waits for his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych at the Elysee presidential palace prior to a meeting in Paris on Oct. 7, 2010. (AFP)
Yanukovych also noted that France supports the idea of modernizing the Ukrainian gas transport system.
"Of course, we spoke about the modernization of the Ukrainian gas transport system. We discussed the need to conduct such work, which will benefit both suppliers and consumers of energy," he said.
Yanukovych confirmed that Ukraine as a transit state would always be a reliable partner for Europe and Russia in the issue of energy supplies.
He said that this issue should be considered only in the Europe-Russia-Ukraine triangle.
