ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement establishes a political and economic association between the parties. The deal was signed after a coup-imposed Ukrainian government came to power in 2014. The accord specifically seeks to create a free trade zone between Ukraine and the 28-nation bloc.
“Our fears were justified and we knew that a whole range of economic operators wanted to use the possibilities that were opening up for deliveries to Russia, but the decisions that were made by the president and the government like the implementation of a single customs tariff and including Ukraine in the so-called anti-sanctions list, and these risks were minimized,” Likhachev said.
“No contacts are planned. We didn’t have any meetings on an official level for the entire month of January with Ukraine and our minister spoke with some of our European partners during a [World Trade Organization] mini-conference in Davos [Switzerland]. In my view, everything is so far under control,” Likhachev said.
