Ukraine refuses to sign political, trade deal with EU
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The European Union suffered a setback in its bid to draw ex-Soviet states into the Western fold when the Ukraine refused to sign a landmark political and trade deal.
Ukraine’s snub despite massive pro-EU protests on its streets highlighted a worsening EU-Russia tug-of-war over former Soviet satellites in eastern Europe.
“The Ukrainian president is not ready to go further into integration with the European Union,” Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said yesterday on the final day of a difficult two-day summit between EU leaders and six ex-Soviet states.
“I think that today’s Ukrainian leadership (is) choosing the way which is going nowhere,” the Lithuanian president said.
The two-day talks held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on the EU’s eastern flank was to have celebrated a five-year drive to cement ties between the 28-nation bloc and Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
But Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych days before the summit scrapped plans to sign off on a deal with the EU.
The EU “door will always remain open for Ukrainians should they wish it,” said French President Francois Hollande.
Georgia and Moldova meanwhile initialed political and trade agreements that will still need to be officially signed to come into effect, hopefully within the next year.
European Union President Herman Van Rompuy meanwhile hailed the two countries; “determination, courage and political will” amid worries they too like Ukraine will come under Russian pressure to eventually pull back from the EU deals.
At talks on the first day of the summit, Yanukovych requested extra EU funds to help the nation’s struggling economy and demanded three-way talks between the EU, Russia and Ukraine on trade. The EU, however, has repeatedly refused to even consider trilateral talks on trade.
To make matters worse, Brussels has seen Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus turn back towards a Moscow which has reminded all of how much they stand to lose if they make the wrong choice.
Yanukovych insists the EU offered insufficient compensation to offset what Ukraine might lose in economic ties with Russia.
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