You're reading: Foreign Ministry: Ex-Soviet states’ Association Agreements with EU may harm Russian economy

Moscow -- The Association Agreement, set to be signed by Ukraine and the European Union in Brussels on June 27, could have a somewhat damaging effect on the Russian economy, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, June 26.

“In our opinion, our colleagues from the EU were unable to prove the “advantages” of Association Agreements for East Partnership countries and Russia,” the ministry said.

“We still believe that the signing of the Association Agreements with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia may harm the Russian economy due to disrupted cooperation and a downsizing of trade and economic relations with our neighbors,” it said.

The Ukrainian authorities intend to sign the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU in Brussels on Friday.

Moscow, for its part, has agreed to attend Russia-EU-Ukraine ministerial consultations concerning this document on July 11.

“But the most important thing: when the agreements take effect which our partners in the CIS free trade area are going to sign with the EU, and we realize that this is having an adverse effect on the functioning of the CIS free trade area, an adverse effect on the conditions under which we joined the WTO (World Trade Organization), we will, of course, take protective measures in full compliance with the WTO rules,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters earlier.