KIEV, September 16 (RIA Novosti) – The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, will start ratifying its association agreement with the European Union at 1 p.m. local time (10:00 GMT), simultaneously with a European Parliament session, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Tuesday.
“Today, at 1 p.m. Kiev time, we will start a procedure to ratify the EU agreement in the Verkhovna Rada simultaneously with the European Parliament,” Poroshenko wrote on his Twitter page.
The Ukraine–EU Association Agreement is a treaty that presupposes political and economic association between the parties.
The political provisions of the Association Agreement were signed back in March, after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and an interim government came to power.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the economic part of the agreement in June.
Last week, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union reached a crucial compromise on Kiev's free trade pact with the 28-member bloc postponing its entry into force until the end of 2015. The deal was agreed upon during a trilateral meeting in Brussels, which was held after Moscow expressed concerns that the implementation of the Association Agreement carries economic risks for Russia and Ukraine. Moscow warned Kiev that Ukraine's signing of the free trade agreement with the European Union could trigger an uncontrolled flow of duty-free goods from Europe, forcing Russia to protect its market.
