Russia Not to Introduce Duties for Ukrainian Goods if Concerns Allayed

Russia will not introduce duties for Ukrainian goods, if Moscow receives answers to all concerns related to Ukraine-EU association agreement, Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev said Monday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Ulyukaev also said that the participants of the meeting in Brussels instructed experts to work on the most controversial issues, including technical regulations, customs management, sanitary control, and prepare relevant proposals by the end of June.

"If we receive answers to all our concerns, if all risks to us are eliminated, this measure [duties] will not be necessary," Ulyukaev said after a meeting of the Trilateral ministerial commission on the implementation of the economic part of the Ukraine-EU association agreement.

The Ukraine-EU Association Agreement is a treaty that presupposes a political and economic association between the parties. The association deal was signed in March 2014 by an interim Ukrainian government following the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych, who had declined to sign the agreement.

Moscow has repeatedly said that the deal carries economic risks for Russian-Ukrainian relations and could trigger an uncontrolled flow of duty-free goods from Europe, forcing Russia to protect its market.

Last month, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Kiev had no plans to postpone the implementation of a free trade agreement with the European Union, set to come into effect on January 1, 2016.