BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — There is a rather high probability that Russia will introduce a food embargo against Ukraine on January 1, 2016, Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukaev said.
"There is no fatal obligation to introduce a food embargo, it is not connected with the negotiations on the [Ukraine-EU] Association, but with the sanctions regime. But the date of the next ministerial discussion of the Russian concerns over the association is not set, so it is highly probable that… by January 1, we will not reach an agreement, and non-preferential trade regime for Ukraine will be introduced," Ulyukayev told reporters later Tuesday.
The prospected free trade deal is part of the bilateral cooperation under the Ukraine–EU Association Agreement ratified last year. The treaty obliges the parties to cooperate in the area of economic policy, legislation and regulations concerning a broad range of issues, including financing, information exchange and banking operations.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States, on which the Kiev government increasingly relies, stick to the sanctions policy against Russia, accusing Moscow of interference in Ukraine's internal affairs, with Russia repeatedly denying those allegations.
