Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is about to visit Ukraine on Saturday. Spain begins its presidency of the European Council on this day.

"I think it is symbolic that this Saturday, on the first day of the Spanish presidency, at my invitation, the Prime Minister of Spain, Mr. Sanchez, will visit Ukraine. For the first time, the beginning of the country's presidency will be highlighted by a visit to Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, speaking via video link at the EU summit on Thursday.

"And this actually says a lot about how important the next six months will be for our Europe. This is a historic time for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU. A Europe of values, a free and strong Europe, a Europe of peace is unthinkable without Ukraine," he stressed.

According to him, Ukraine is "ready to start accession negotiations, and it is necessary to record our progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission."