Time to talk
Kwaśniewski says Ukraine should be offered the same opportunity to become a member as Turkey to give its new pro-Western government an incentive to implement reforms.
"[By inviting] Turkey to start negotiations, we have no arguments not to start talks with Ukraine," Kwaśniewski said.
"I don't want to predict how long it will take to complete the process, it may be a matter of 10 to 15 years, but it makes sense to start negotiations," he said.
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko is pressing the EU to set a timetable for his country's EU accession, but Brussels has so far offered little guidance to the Ukrainians.
Some EU diplomats say the bloc could be overwhelmed if it tried to absorb both Turkey and Ukraine - with a combined population of over 100 million - at the same time. (Reuters) J.T.
"[By inviting] Turkey to start negotiations, we have no arguments not to start talks with Ukraine," Kwaśniewski said.
"I don't want to predict how long it will take to complete the process, it may be a matter of 10 to 15 years, but it makes sense to start negotiations," he said.
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko is pressing the EU to set a timetable for his country's EU accession, but Brussels has so far offered little guidance to the Ukrainians.
Some EU diplomats say the bloc could be overwhelmed if it tried to absorb both Turkey and Ukraine - with a combined population of over 100 million - at the same time. (Reuters) J.T.
