You're reading: Moscow: Association with EU may limit Ukrainian cooperation capacities

Moscow, Russia - Association with the European Union will significantly limit Ukrainian capacities for cooperation with Customs Union member states, in the opinion of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Liberalization of trade with EU member countries will tie up Kyiv with commitments to the European Union and EU directives for a long time but it will not be able to take part in their elaboration. Therefore, Kyiv will significantly limit its capacities for trade and economic cooperation with Customs Union member states,” Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s European Cooperation Department Igor Kapyrin said at a Tuesday roundtable at the Federation Council.

That may be extremely disadvantageous for Kyiv, the diplomat said.

He noted that the EU intensified its efforts on the Eastern Partnership track after Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus had founded the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. “These structures were created with the purpose of the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015,” Kapyrin said.

The European Union’s formation of “profound and comprehensive” free trade zones with Kyiv and Chisinau “became an essential factor of Transdniestrian developments,” said roundtable speakers.

“Moldova’s disregard of the economic interests of Transdniestria may have the most negative effect on the Transdniestrian peace process and harm the population of the region,” warned head of the Eurasian Economic Community division of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s First Department for CIS Member Countries Sergei Yezhov.

In turn, International Affairs Committee Deputy Chairman Andrei Klimov said that the EU was regarding the Eastern Partnership initiative as an instrument of the enhancement of its political influence on the countries affiliated to that group.

The Eastern Partnership includes Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus, Klimov said. The partnership deems secondary the analysis of real economic problems and the unification of these states with other CIS countries, including those in the Customs Union, the parliamentarian said.

Hence, the roundtable participants suggested that Russia should intensify economic and humanitarian information exchanges with CIS foreign ministries, which would have a positive effect on the Eurasian integration processes.