Russian, Ukrainian diplomats to hold three meetings in October

Russian diplomats have at least three bilateral meetings scheduled with their Ukrainian counterparts in October, at which they will continue to discuss the Customs Union and the implications of signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, said on October 2 Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Head Grigory Karasin.

A meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission involving the prime ministers will occur in the middle of October in Kaluga, Russia. The foreign ministers will lead talks in Rostov-on-Don, Russia at a meeting of an international affairs subcommission at the end of October, when a bilateral interparliamentary meeting is also planned for the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk.

“As earlier, we are ready to share with our Ukrainian partners arguments on the benefits of Eurasian integration, or at least to contradistinguish Eurasian integration against European,” Karasin said.

Zenon Zawada: We don’t think there’s anything the Russians can tell the Ukrainians that change their minds other than a very generous reduction in natural gas prices. Instead, these meetings will aim to widen any cracks of doubt that exist regarding the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement within the Ukrainian leadership, which is trying to determine whether it is worth all the trouble it now has with releasing former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The Russians understand that undermining Tymoshenko’s release is key to undermining the agreement.

Sowing doubt about the Association Agreement’s value can be accomplished by discussing the new import regulations, inspections, tariffs and duties that will emerge as a result of the Ukraine-EU Free Trade Area being created. The meetings will also serve as a good public relations ploy for the Russian government in telling its public that every effort was made to make the Ukrainians aware of the consequences of their poor decision.