On 18 September in Kyiv, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis met with Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and called on him to make full use of the possibilities offered by the EU’s Eastern Partnership.

 During the meeting, the Ministers focused on the Eastern Partnership Summit, which will be held in Vilnius next year during Lithuania’s Presidency of the EU Council, and discussed Ukraine’s role in the Eastern Partnership.

Ažubalis stressed that Ukraine, as one of the leaders of the Eastern Partnership countries, should actively exploit the opportunities offered by this initiative.

The Ministers also spoke about Ukraine’s upcoming parliamentary elections on 28 October, which is one of the most important events in Ukraine’s domestic policy.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister underlined that the elections had to be organized in such a way that the international community would not have the slightest doubt regarding the transparency of the elections and compliance with the generally accepted standards. According to Ažubalis, fair elections are prerequisite for signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.