Ukraine in Arabic | After 7 days, Ukraine gets a deal with European union
Kiev/Ukraine in Arabic/The President Petro Poroshenko yesterday said he would sign the crucial trade and economic relations portion of an historic EU pact in Brussels on June 27.
The President Petro Poroshenko yesterday said he would sign the crucial trade and economic relations portion of an historic EU pact in Brussels on June 27.
The old Kremlin-backed leadership's rejection of the EU Association Agreement in November sparked months of deadly protests that led to the February ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych.
The interim government headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk signed the political relations portion of the deal in Brussels on March 21.
But Kiev delayed signing the economic section because it demanded that Ukraine lift import barriers aimed at protecting its farmers and steel mills in the east from direct EU competition.
The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Poroshenko was considering pushing back the trade agreement's signature until he stabilised the recession-hit economy and resolved the pro-Russian separatist insurgency gripping the industrial east.
The complete pact's signing will effectively cut Ukraine off from a Moscow-led economic alliance of a few former Soviet nations championed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia yesterday once again threatened to impose trade restrictions against Ukraine should it sign the full EU deal.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's parliament yesterday confirmed Kiev's negotiator with Moscow as foreign minister in a boost for the new president's plan to end the bloody pro-Russian insurgency gripping the separatist east.
The unanimous approval of Pavlo Klimkin came as Poroshenko prepared to host leaders from the restive rust belt as he continued to build his case for a ceasefire following 10 weeks of fighting.
Poroshenko vowed to order the army to halt hostilities and give the rebels a chance to disarm after late-night talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin bolstered hope for a solution to Ukraine's worst crisis since independence in 1991.
But fighting that has now claimed around 360 lives continued unabated and one top militia leader dismissed Poroshenko's peace push as "meaningless".
A senior defence source told Kiev's respected Dzerkalo Tyzhnia news site that clashes on Wednesday near the Russian border killed 15 soldiers and left 13 others missing -- one of the deadliest days of the two-month campaign.
The original text is on dailystar.com.lb