We have to make refusal to Ukraine’s EU membership bid ‘toxic’ said former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko speaking to reporters on a visit to Rotterdam where he was attending the Congress of  European Peoples Party.

The former president who now leads Ukraine’s opposition party European Solidarity obvisoulsy tried to get the message across in the talks he had  with Donald Tusk, Manfred Weber, Ursula von den Leyen, Valdis Domborvsis and other key European politicians during the high-key event in Rotterdam.

photo by European Solidarity

Leading an advocacy campaign for Ukraine requires both political and diplomatic efforts, stressed Poroshenko, urging the allies to step up military aid supplies as well as the country badly needs helicopters, tanks, fighters aircrafts, long-range rocket launch systems, and artillery batteries.

Poroshenko suggested that sanctions against Russia have not ‘reached their maximum yet’, arguing that some EU state member who  ‘have had special relations with Russia’ have to make a choice – ‘you are either with Europe, or with Russia, and there can’t be other way to it’.