Ukrainian envoy to the European Union Kostiantyn Yeliseyev does not expect the Association Agreement with the EU to be signed before parliamentary elections in Ukraine.
"A lot of technical work has to be done to prepare the agreement’s text for signature. Therefore, I can tell you with all responsibility that the text of the agreement a priori will not be ready for signature before the Ukrainian parliamentary elections purely technically," Yeliseyev said on Channel 5 television on March 30.
He said he was basically optimistic about the prospects of the document’s signature and ratification.
"I want to tell you that chickens should be counted when they’re hatched," Yeliseyev said. "I am optimistic and think that we will sign this agreement anyway, no matter how much someone might not want this," he said.
The elections to the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada are scheduled for the end of October 2012.
It was announced earlier on Friday that Ukraine and the EU had initialed the Association Agreement.
