Rutte reportedly wants legally binding assurances that association deal will not oblige the European Union to provide financial or security assistance to Kiev, that Ukrainians will not be granted the right to work and live in the bloc, and that this deal will not essentially lead to Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
"We still have not harmonized [the positions on the issue of agreement]," the official told reporters.
Earlier on Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on EU leaders to reach an agreement on all the aspects of the EU-Ukraine association treaty in order to complete the process of its ratification.
The deal between Ukraine and the European Union, signed in 2014 and supposed to deepen political, economic and trade links, was initially approved by the Dutch Parliament. However, in April Dutch voters held a referendum on the issue and rejected the agreement by 61 percent of votes out of fears that the deal could obligate the Netherlands to provide financial or military support to Kiev. Despite low voters' turnout and non-binding nature of the referendum, most Dutch parties agreed to abide by the outcome.
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