Foreign Ministry: US government hopes Ukraine, EU will sign Association Agreement

U.S. government officials have expressed hope that Ukraine and the European Union will sign an Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius this November, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's information policy department reported on Saturday.

This issue was discussed at the fifth meeting of the Ukrainian-U.S. working group on political dialog and the rule of law, which was chaired by Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Andriy Portnov and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thomas O. Melia in Kyiv on October 23.

"U.S. government officials have again stressed their support for European integration of Ukraine and expressed hope that the Association Agreement will be signed at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius," reads the statement.

The Ukrainian side spoke about the first achievements in the reform of the Criminal Procedure Code, the creation of an open dialog between journalists and law enforcement officials, and the plans for the establishment of the State Bureau of Investigation.

U.S. Department of State officials noted the successful introduction of a system of free legal aid for the most vulnerable people and the functioning in Ukraine of an effective and transparent system for appointing judges.

In general, U.S. delegates praised the progress made by Kyiv in conducting legal reforms and the level of cooperation between the Ukrainian side and U.S. experts, including representatives of USAID and the U.S. Department of Justice.

"According to U.S. experts, reforms in Ukraine in this sphere are an example for other CIS countries," the ministry said.

The sides also said at the meeting that the U.S. would continue to provide financial and expert support for reforms in Ukraine. They also noted the need for the participation of the Ukrainian political opposition in the adoption of the bills that were approved by the Venice Commission.