Ukraine-EU Association may be signed in the spring, Yanukovych says

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said in a television interview broadcast November 27 that he may sign the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement in the spring, the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper reported on November 28. The president acknowledged that his decision will depend on the success of negotiations between the prime ministers of Ukraine and the Russian Federaton, which will begin December 3.

Negotiations on the Association Agreement should involve Ukraine, Russia and the EU, Yanukovych said. “Do we want to preserve partnership because that’s 30 percent of our trade? Of course we do,” Yanukovych told the journalists. “The Russian side also is telling us, ‘And we want to.’ So we need to return to the free trade agreement with the EU and find what in it conflicts with our relations (with Russia). And we should get an answer for each of those positions.”

In the same interview, Yanukovych said Ukraine could leave the EU Energy Charter if its interests aren’t met. He pointed out that five EU countries will sign an agreement to build the South Stream gas transit system bypassing Ukraine during negotiations between the EU and Ukraine on a common energy policy. “That violates Ukraine’s interests, yet we’re partners,” he said. “Why are you violating your requirements? That’s a direct violation of the EU’s third energy package.”

The Ukrainian government requested that the summit’s final declaration mention that Statute 49 of the EU agreement—consisting of the determining principles for joining the EU – apply to the Eastern Partnership countries. Yet the EU deleted that excerpt on November 27, during the latest round of finalizing the summit’s declaration, Kommersant reported.

Zenon Zawada: It’s dubious for Yanukovych to claim that after four years of the Eastern Partnership program that the Ukrainian government has yet to determine what trade conditions of the Association Agreement conflict with the Customs Union. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has thoroughly investigated these issues, and Ukrainian enterprises have had many years to prepare for the consequences of lost trade with Russia. We view this excuse as a poor smokescreen for more pragmatic reasons for rejecting the Association Agreement, such as behind-the-scenes financial arrangements that have been initiated and are being negotiated.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov claimed on November 26 that his government received no offers of financial aid from Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his side didn’t discuss with the Ukrainian side amendments to their new natural gas contract. Yet Azarov and other top officials have stated that some agreement exists between Ukraine and Russia, which reportedly jointly prepared the conditions for the November 21 Cabinet resolution. Azarov himself acknowledged that his government adhered to a Russian demand that the Association Agreement be postponed. So we believe it’s possible that a tentative agreement exists on aid, whether in the form of loans or gas prices, despite the denials.