(MENAFN- UkrinForm) The head of state stated this during press conference following talks with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“I want to thank Cyprus for its political-level support. This concerns, in particular, the negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership. We expect that the coming months will bring more progress on Ukraine's path to the EU, and the Cypriot presidency may become historic in terms of opening clusters for Ukraine and other necessary decisions,” Zelensky said.

He also noted that this was the first visit to Ukraine by a Cypriot president and added that he sees it as a sign of support for Ukraine –“a sign of our shared readiness to work together for both our states and for all of Europe.”

According to the President, the talks focused on the situation in Ukraine, developments at the front, priorities, and the work of Ukraine's team in negotiation processes with partners.

Zelensky separately thanked Cyprus for supporting the sanctions policy against Russia.

“EU leaders are now preparing a new sanctions package. We want it to be truly effective, which means continued pressure on Russia's energy sector above all, and on everything else that provides Russia with budget revenues and thus the ability to prolong this war,” he said.

He also expressed gratitude for the joint efforts, including with Cyprus, regarding Russia's shadow tanker fleet and schemes used to circumvent sanctions.

Read also: Ukraine's Ambassador hints at possible“good news” in military cooperation with Cyprus

Zelensky touched on the topic of frozen Russian assets as well.

“We expect Cyprus to support joint European decisions on Russian assets. It is an absolutely fair principle that Russia must pay for the war it started and continues. The funds needed for defense and for recovery after Russian strikes should rightfully come from the resources the aggressor left in the hands of the free world,” the President emphasized.

He also recalled that Cyprus was among the countries that supported the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

“I want to thank you for that. We thank Cyprus and the Cypriot people for their support. And we expect Cyprus to continue participating in this work – in addressing humanitarian issues,” the President noted, adding that efforts to free Ukrainian prisoners, both civilian and military, many of whom Russia has held since 2014, must also continue.

As reported, the European Commission on November 4 adopted its annual Enlargement Package, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the progress made by Ukraine and other“enlargement partners” over the past 12 months. This year's package confirms that the momentum for enlargement remains one of the EU's priorities and that the accession of new member states is becoming increasingly achievable.

Following the publication of the report, Zelensky stated that Ukraine is confidently moving toward EU membership and is ready to open clusters 1, 2, and 6.

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