14/12/2013 16:15
Kiev prepares roadmap for joining Russian-led Customs Union – report
The Ukrainian cabinet has instructed the nation’s Economic Development Ministry to draw up a roadmap for Ukraine to join the Russian-led Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, according to the minutes of a government meeting, RIA Novosti said, citing a local media report.
The roadmap should be prepared for a Ukrainian-Russian intergovernmental commission meeting due to take place on December 17, internet news site zn.ua reported, citing the minutes.
Ukraine’s cabinet ministers have been instructed to give their “proposals for the project of a road map for a convergence of Ukraine’s technical regulations with the technical regulations of the Customs Union,” zn.ua says, citing the minutes. The cabinet also supported the Economic Development Ministry’s proposals for Ukraine to adhere to the Customs Union’s regulations regarding money laundering and financing of terrorism, the report said.
The news comes as both Russia and the European Union strive to lock Kiev into economic association agreements, after Kiev made a dramatic volte face last month and decided not to sign such a deal with the EU, citing the damage the move would cause to economic relations with Moscow.
The significance of the roadmap proposal was not immediately clear Saturday, but it may be a lever to extract concessions from the EU. The Ukrainian government said just last week that it would return to association talks with the EU in the spring.
“We want to achieve stronger positions for Ukraine in talks with the EU and talks with Russia. Only then will they respect us,” Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said on Saturday following a meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.
President Yanukovych, meanwhile, instructed Azarov on Saturday to make sure that society and in particular students, was informed about the government’s aims and “issues surrounding Ukraine’s European integration and the course of negotiations with the EU.”