People in Ukraine demand change, says Slovak Foreign Minister

People in Ukraine demand change, and a synonym of change is reforms, said Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák at a conference entitled "The EU's Eastern Policy: Relations with Russia and Ukraine" in Bratislava on Tuesday. The event was organised by the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) in cooperation with the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). According to Lajčák, the implementation of reforms would be a significant sign of a stable future for Ukraine, as association and free market agreements with the EU don't provide any guarantees, rather a legal framework for closer cooperation. Concerning Russia, Lajčák said that addressing Russia-related issues will take a long time. "A significant redefinition of our relations with Moscow is a challenge that we are unable to avoid", said Lajčák, adding that in the meantime, the EU has to hold discussions with Russia and better understand its motivations more often. Lajčák also mentioned the conflict in Syria. "Our attitude to the Syrian crisis and other crises is that 'we don't want that man, we don't want that group because we don't like them'. If we're going to exclude everyone whom we don't like from dialogue, we'll stop talking to each other one day ... For four years we've been discussing the future of [Syrian President] al-Assad without discussing how to stop the bloody war in Syria", said Lajčák.