Arrival in Kyiv

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he arrived in Kyiv early Saturday morning for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky as his country rotates between the presidency of the European Union.

Sanchez wrote on his official Twitter account: “I am in Kyiv. I wanted the first head of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union to be in Ukraine with Zelensky,” adding that “all of Europe would express solidarity” to him.

Sanchez’s Schedule

Sanchez arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland. He is scheduled to give a speech to the Ukrainian parliament and then meet with the President of Ukraine.

Zelenskiy’s Statement

Zelenskiy announced the visit on Thursday in a speech to European leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels. Zelensky emphasized the symbolism of the visit and the importance of the next six months for Europe. He added that the time has come to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

Zelenskiy said today that the next six months will be decisive for his country’s accession to the European Union. The Ukrainian news agency quotes Zelenskiy as saying to Spanish journalists in Kyiv: “From today, Spain begins a rotating presidency of the European Union. We count on her support in this regard.” “For us, this will be a decisive period in the (EU) accession negotiations,” he added.

Sanchez said on Friday during the EU summit: “The war in Ukraine will be one of the top priorities of our presidency, with a focus on ensuring unity on this issue among all member states.”

This is Sanchez’s third visit to Kyiv since the start of the war with Russia in February 2022.

Sanchez is due to return to Madrid on Sunday, where he will meet European Council President Charles Michel, the day before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a group of EU commissioners arrive in the Spanish capital.