EU, Ukraine Postpone Summit Until September

The European Union says it has postponed an EU-Ukraine Summit that was scheduled for next month until September.

A European Commission spokeswoman said on April 27 that the delay was agreed to in order to give the new government in Kyiv the necessary time to carry out political and financial reforms in the country.

The summit was to have been held in Brussels on May 19 and attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

"In the meantime, the new Ukrainian government will pursue work on delivering its reform commitments" under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the spokeswoman said.

"The rescheduling of the summit should also allow for the review of the IMF [International Monetary Fund] program to be concluded," she added.

The EU's Association Agreement with Ukraine was the main issue behind a crisis in the country that led to the 2014 ousting of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych, who rejected the deal.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa