Moscow - The signing of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement is a sovereign right of Ukraine but this step will have serious implications, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said.
“Definitely, the signing of such significant document is a sovereign right of every state,” he told Interfax.
“There is no doubt that the signing [of association agreements with the EU] by Ukraine and Moldova will have major consequences but we should rather not make commonplace remarks but assess the implications in order to avoid various kinds of misunderstandings and suspicions in the future,” the diplomat added.
“It is important that the countries which sign this document realize its consequences for their relations both with the European Union and other partners, among them Russia, because Ukraine and Moldova have agreements regarding the CIS free trade zone and these agreements are still in effect,” he noted.
“By the way, Georgia, which declared its secession from the CIS, remained a party to many agreements advantageous for it,” Karasin indicated.
Moscow has repeatedly proposed to hold consultations for evaluating possible implications of the association agreements with the European Union, he said.
“Back then our appeals were not heard by our partners in Kyiv, Chisinau and Brussels and we were disappointed with that reaction to our proposals,” he said.
“Now as if after what happened in late November following the Vilnius summit the so-called “focus countries” and the EU understood the significance of those consultations and willingly agreed to maintain contacts. Contacts have been made with Ukrainian and Moldovan partners on the level of experts and relevant ministries. Ministerial consultations with the European Union are planned for early July,” the diplomat said.
