The signing of the CIS free trade zone agreement does not annul the European integration wishes of the pro-governmental majority in Ukraine, leader of the Party of Regions faction Oleksandr Yefremov told Channel 5.
"Our European integration is declared by law; we have a law on the domestic and foreign policy, which was one of the first laws adopted by the parliamentary majority. The law was initiated by the Ukrainian president, and our attitude did not change. As for the signing of the free trade zone agreement, that was the end of the process we started several years ago," he said.
"This agreement will be advantageous for the national economic development," Yefremov said.
Further integration of Ukraine is possible if the European Union treats Ukraine like an equal partner and gives no directives or demands, like that happened in the Tymoshenko case, he said.
"I would have formulated the question in a different way: what is Ukraine for the European Union? If they tell us where to go and what to do, we should hardly go the EU at all. If they reckon with our country and our laws – no matter what laws that may be – and realize that the president cannot order to repeal laws or acts of courts and law enforcers, then we will move on," he said.
