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Viktor Yanukovych says that Ukraine may join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. AFP Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that Ukraine may join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan following the appropriate procedures, in particular, after making relevant amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.

"I am often asked whether Ukraine may join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan... It's possible, but there are procedures which have to be followed in Ukraine, for example, the amendments to the constitution, which could be made either by parliament or via a national referendum," he said.

In response, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would like to see Ukraine among the members of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, but this is an issue of Kyiv's sovereign choice.

"We'd like to see Ukraine in the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, we see a lot of economic sense in that," Medvedev said.

The Russian president noted that the issue of what associations a country should join "is an issue of a sovereign choice of any free nation."