BRUSSELS, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed hope Friday that his country will maintain its presence in Russian and other markets following the signing of an association agreement with the European Union.
“I think that we will not lose any markets where we were present before, including the Russian market," Poroshenko told reporters after signing the economic part of the EU association agreement.
Poroshenko said that Ukraine, Russia and the EU will hold expert-level talks on the association pact on July 3-4, while a ministerial meeting on the same issue has been set for July 11.
The president also expressed hope that these consultations would lay the groundwork for a future Ukrainian-Russian summit for the heads of state.
At the summit in Brussels on Friday, Ukraine and the EU signed the economic part of the association agreement that envisages the creation of a free-trade zone with the bloc.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern amid the signing of the deal, saying it could lead to an uncontrolled flow of goods. Russia has warned that in this case it would have to protect its market.
Russia expects the forthcoming expert-level consultations and ministerial talks with Ukraine and the EU on Kiev’s association with the bloc will be a step toward reaching common ground, a deputy Russian foreign minister, Alexei Meshkov, said Friday.
