Ukrainian authorities have no right even to discuss the question of Ukraine's accession to the Union State of Russia and Belarus, President Viktor Yanukovych said on Thursday.
Russian parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy and Enterprise head Yevgeny Fyodorov earlier proposed Ukraine join the union.
"Is there a right for a discussion on this issue? For me as president, no. For all those who represent the government, no," Yanukovych was quoted by his press service as saying.
He stressed that Ukraine is an independent state while integration into the European Union is the country's strategic foreign policy line.
"This strategic direction is recorded in my repeated statements as president. I would like everyone to remember this," he said.
The Union State of Russia and Belarus was formed in April 1996.
Each member state retains sovereignty while the Union cannot claim representation in other international organizations or overrule legislation or government decisions of its member states except in cases specified by the Union Treaty (signed in 1997).
KIEV, April 1 (RIA Novosti)
