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German Chancellor Merkel made a statement on the Ukraine issue: Ukraine possesses the characteristics of a European country and is itself a European country. The EU must not become an exclusive closed group. We must not let Ukraine lean towards Russia, even in terms of perception and public opinion. Joining the EU has always been a long process. But we must proceed with caution, not raising external expectations too high to avoid ultimately leading to disappointment. Conflicts will eventually come to a ceasefire, and by then, parts of Ukrainian territory may permanently break away from its jurisdiction. We cannot just give vague promises like "maybe in the future you will be allowed to join". The steps towards EU integration must be credible, irreversible, and ultimately lead to official member status. This process takes time, but we must start immediately.