KIEV, November 26 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine has not abandoned plans to sign a landmark trade deal with the European Union, the country’s top diplomat said Monday.
“Ukraine is not rejecting the agreement on association [with the EU], we are simply talking about suspension of its signing,” Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara told reporters in the capital, Kiev. “Neither Ukraine nor the EU are ready for this deal.”
Kozhara’s remarks came after days of protests in Kiev and number of towns and cities across Ukraine.
In a move that stunned Europe, the Ukrainian government last week announced it would seek closer cooperation with Russia and the Moscow-led Customs Union trade bloc, which also comprises Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Kozhara said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has backed the Cabinet’s decision to suspend the planned signing of the association agreement and free trade deals with the EU at the two-day summit in Vilnius starting November 28.
Ukraine has instead proposed the creation of a trilateral commission between itself, Russia and the European Union to explore ways to deepen mutual ties.
Ukraine has come under sustained pressure from the Kremlin in recent months as diplomatic negotiations over its alignment with the EU intensified.
As well as the threatening the imposition of a strict new customs regime, Russia also ratcheted up pressure on Kiev, which depends on Russia for its energy supplies, over payments for gas imports.
The Ukrainian government acknowledged last week that the country had already registered significant losses because of shrinking trade volumes with Russia and other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, an alliance of former Soviet countries.
