Ukraine needs to sign Association Agreement with EU to avoid standstill in relations, says Slovak president

Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic has noted the importance of signing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.

"It's important that this agreement should be signed, because otherwise a period of stagnation and freezing [of the European integration of Ukraine] may start," he said in a press statement after the tripartite talks with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in the town of Wisla in Poland on Thursday. "Therefore, we are pleased to have promised the president our support," Gasparovic said. He added that such support could be provided only if Ukraine meets as many demands of the EU as possible. Speaking about the talks in Poland, Gasparovic noted that the presidents discussed reforms in the justice sector, in particular the use of selective justice. "We also discussed the reforms in the justice sector and the difference between what is written and how it is executed," he said. The Ukraine-EU summit will be held in Brussels on February 25, and the association agreement could be signed during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013.