Ukraine submits updated bid for OECD membership, Zelenskiy says

June 24 - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Ukraine had submitted a revised application to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club of mostly advanced economies, as Kyiv pursues closer integration with Western institutions.

Ukraine has been working with the OECD on reforms and governance standards for several years and is now seeking candidate-country status as a step towards full membership.

Zelenskiy, after meeting with Mathias Cormann, OECD's Secretary-General, on his visit to Kyiv, said in a Telegram post that Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has submitted the updated bid.

"We hope to obtain candidate country status as early as this autumn. The next stage will be a roadmap toward OECD membership. We discussed this during our meeting," Zelenskiy wrote.

Ukraine, in a full-scale war with Russia after Moscow's invasion in 2022, is actively pushing for European integration which Kyiv says is the best security guarantee both for itself and for Europe.

Last week, Zelenskiy reiterated Kyiv's desire for a fast-track EU membership.

Ukraine hopes to open the remaining negotiating clusters with the EU by July 15 when Ukraine marks its Statehood Day, Zelenskiy said, according to a separate statement published by his office on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that he did not see grounds for direct talks with Zelenskiy given what he described as Kyiv's strikes on civilian targets. REUTERS