Poroshenko: Ukraine formalizing relations with Customs Union, not intending to join it

Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Petro Poroshenko has said that if Ukraine wanted to join the Customs Union, it would not be currently institutionalizing relations with the union.

"The first meeting of a group on trade dialogue, which was created with my help, will take place on November 28. It will officially institutionalize relations between Ukraine and the Customs Union," he said during the Kyiv Post Tiger Conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"If Ukraine planned to join the Customs Union, why would it be formalizing relations between two entities of international economic relations?" Poroshenko said.

He said that the trade dialogue group would address the issue of export of Ukrainian pipes in 2013, the cancellation of protective measures by both parties for the liberalization of the trade regime, and the establishment of mechanisms that would allow Ukrainian businesses to protect their rights, including using arbitration mechanism of the CIS.

The minister also drew attention to the fact that the volume of trade that will be discussed during his meeting with the Eurasian Economic Commission's officials, as well as at the meeting with Russian ministers in Moscow, is around $2 billion worth of Ukrainian exports.