Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite believes that Ukraine can get the visa-free regime with the EU by the end of 2016 - the beginning of 2017.

"Over the past two years, Ukraine has done a great job of preparing for the liberalization, and I want to welcome a very positive report the European Commission issued in December last year, which said: 'Ukraine is ready.' Which means, what is left is only a political procedure – the approval by the EU Council. And I think that it is possible that this year, in late 2016 or early 2017, Ukraine will receive a visa-free regime with the EU," Grybauskaite said in an interview with ICTV channel on Sunday evening.

She stressed that the matter of visa liberalization is "technical", whereas the ratification of the agreement on the free trade area requires the consensus of all EU member states. The Lithuanian president has recalled the Netherlands planned referendum on this matter. "But in any case we are already applying this agreement through opening the European borders for Ukraine," she said.