Ukraine's joining a customs union including Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is impossible, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said on Tuesday.
"Ukraine has [already] entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is integrating into the WTO. We are developing policies according to the organization's principles. Joining the Russian-Belarusian-Kazakh customs union is impossible now because of the WTO's economic principles which do not allow us to join this union," Yanukovych said during the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In January 2009, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed to create a single economic space by January 1, 2012.
In June 2009, the countries notified the WTO of their intention to join the organization as a single customs union.
The three ex-Soviet republics suspended their bilateral negotiations on WTO entry to hold consultations on a common position on the customs union.
STRASBOURG, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
