Lipavský: Czechs will push for EU accession talks with Ukraine this autumn

The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, says his country will push for the European Union to begin accession talks with Ukraine this autumn.

In an interview for the Czech News Agency on Tuesday, he said that a European Commission assessment of Ukraine’s readiness to join the EU – which should be published on November 8 – would be crucial.

Mr. Lipavský said Ukraine was involved in a military conflict in which it was literally fighting to the death and for the right to choose its own geopolitical orientation, meaning membership of the EU and NATO.