Moscow’s 52-page “secret proposal" arrived in Brussels at a time when Russia-EU relations are at their lowest in many months and was an attempt to safeguard Russia’s economic interests after the free trade deal takes effect, German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel speculated.
The free trade zone between the EU and Ukraine is to become fully effective on January 1, 2016, as stipulated by the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
Fully aware of the negative impact this could have on its economy, Russia has been engaged in tense negotiations with Brussels and Kiev.
“If the EU accepted it, this would have become the first step towards an official recognition of the peninsula’s annexation by Russia,” Der Spiegel wrote in conclusion.
Crimea and its special-status port city of Sevastopol rejoined Russia following a region-wide referendum in March 2014.
Kiev and its Western allies have not recognized the results of the referendum, accusing Russia of violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. Moscow, in turn, has repeatedly stated the the reunification had fully complied with the international law.