KYIV — The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv on Saturday, in what is her second visit to the country since Russia’s invasion.

She promised him that cooperation between Kyiv and the EU parliament would “only grow stronger”, and said she hoped that Ukraine would be allowed to begin European Union membership negotiations this year.

Brussels granted Kyiv formal candidate status in June last year. It had applied just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24.

In a Twitter post, Metsola praised Ukrainians as the “brave people who inspired the world” and “who sacrificed everything for our values”.

Zelensky also took to social media to thank Metsola for her “leadership in supporting Ukraine from the start of the war.

After the meeting, Metsola was taken on a walking tour of the city with the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament. — Euronews