KIEV (Sputnik) – The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry took into account the preliminary results of the Dutch referendum on the EU-Ukraine association agreement, expressing hope that the final decision of the government of the Netherlands on the issue will meet Ukrainian interests.
"We took note of the preliminary results of exit poll referendum in the Netherlands on the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. We proceed from the fact that under Dutch law a referendum is advisory in nature, and therefore the final decision on the ratification of the Agreement after internal discussions and procedures will be issued by the Government of the Netherlands," a spokesperson of the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a Wednesday statement.
Earlier, the Dutch BNO news agency reported citing official data from all municipalities that 61.1 percent of the Dutch voted against the EU-Ukraine association agreement in the Wednesday referendum. According to BNO, the turnout was 32.2 percent.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the Netherlands could reconsider the ratification of the EU-Ukraine association deal as the majority of the population reportedly says "no" in the Dutch advisory referendum.
"We hope that this decision [on the EU-Ukraine association agreement] will meet the interests of Ukraine, the Netherlands and Europe," the Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said in the Wednesday statement.
The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, establishing a political and economic association between Kiev and Brussels, was signed in 2014. The Dutch government decided to hold a non-binding referendum after over 400,000 people signed a petition to put the matter to a nationwide vote.
