Mogherini to visit Kyiv on December 16

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini plans to visit Kyiv after the first meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, her spokesperson Maja Kocijancic has said.

She said at a briefing in Brussels on Thursday that immediately after the Association Council meeting, that is, on Tuesday afternoon, Mogherini would visit Kyiv and meet with President Petro Poroshenko, government officials, MPs and civil society representatives to discuss what the EU can do for assistance in resolving the crisis in Ukraine and in support of the necessary reforms.

Kocijancic also confirmed that on Monday evening, Brussels would host the first meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council. The Ukrainian side will be headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, and the EU will be represented by Mogherini and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, she said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, in turn, confirmed the visit by the EU foreign policy chief.

"Federica Mogherini will come to Kyiv on December 16-17," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, during the visit she is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and other senior officials.