Putin Signs Decree Suspending Free Trade Zone With Ukraine From January 1

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree suspending Russia's implementation of the Commonwealth of Independent States free trade deal in regard to Ukraine starting January 1, 2016, according to official documents released Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The suspension is introduced "due to exceptional circumstances affecting the interests and economic security of the Russian Federation," reads the decree, published on Russia's official legal information portal.

Russia has repeatedly expressed concern over Ukraine's free trade deal with the European Union, stating this could lead to an uncontrolled flow of European goods into the Russian market.

In 2014, Ukraine and the European Union signed an association agreement aimed at bringing Kiev and Brussels closer together, both economically and politically. It specifically seeks to create a free trade zone between Ukraine and the 28-nation bloc. Russia’s concerns over the implementation of the agreement caused the postponement of the free trade zone's implementation until 2016.

Trilateral talks between the European Union, Ukraine and Russia were last held on December 1. The sides failed to come to an agreement, according to Russia's Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev.