Prime Minister Mykola Azarov recently stated that the talks on the EU-Ukraine association agreement and an agreement on deep and comprehensive free trade area have completed.

In his Facebook wall he stated:

"The talks held at the level of experts on concluding the deep and comprehensive free trade area agreement and the agreement on the EU-Ukraine association have ended in Brussels today. Generally, all the disputed issues have been clarified and the negotiators have drafted a compromised variant."

He also said:

"Our delegation insists on the Ukraine-EU association agreement to fix Ukraine's prospects for the EU membership. The European Union offers other wordings," he explained.

Ukraine understands the EU-Ukraine association agreement is a historically important document, Azarov said.

"It is concluded for a long period, perhaps 10 or 15 years. In essence, this document requires a great deal of work Ukraine should do to modernize economy, social sphere, to reform the law enforcement and judicial system," the prime minister added.

Therefore,  Ukraine has to meet specific EU standards over a period of time.

"So the question is if the country situated in the heart of Europe complies with all EU standards, what are the grounds to deprive it of the European perspective? These are our arguments. We expect our partners to understand our position," the Ukrainian prime minister noted.

The conclusion of the free trade area agreement and the agreement on EU-Ukraine association will inevitably have a positive impact on bilateral Trade, Azarov emphasized.

Azarov met with German parliamentarians and stressed Ukraine had agreed on all reasonable compromises over the free trade area.

"I cannot say the agreement completely satisfies us. We see pluses and minuses. We think the advantages are more significant, therefore we acknowledge the agreement will serve a crucial role in future," said Azarov.


-- by Adedeji Oluwasina 'Bayo - PWI Reporter Ukraine

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