EU-Ukrainian talks in Prague

Hosting talks between the EU and Ukraine on Thursday, the Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, warned Kiev it would need to work hard to regain the trust it lost during the recent gas crisis. Minister Schwarzenberg urged Ukraine to push ahead with political, economic and judiciary reforms and stabilize its internal policy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko maintained that his country was not to blame for the gas crisis since it had been Russia who halted gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine. He said his country was aiming for fully-fledged EU membership and would strive for visa-free relations with all EU member states.