Ukraine ditches major EU deal in favor of Russia

Ukraine's government decided Thursday, Nov 21 to call off the planned signing of a landmark association agreement with the EU that could have weakened the former Soviet nation's bonds with Russia.

The country's cabinet said in a decree that the decision was motivated by the need to consolidate economic ties with Russia and member states of the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independence States alliance, reports RIA Novosti.

The stunning reversal of course will be greeted with dismay in the European Union, which had been hoping to steer Kiev toward closer economic integration with Europe.

It was widely expected Ukraine would sign a major association free trade agreement with the European Union at the Vilnius summit n Nov. 28-29.

Ukraine's government has, instead of committing to the EU deal, proposed creating a trilateral commission between itself, Russia and the European Union.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine's parliament rejected draft laws aimed at allowing jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to seek medical treatment abroad, which EU officials had stipulated as a condition for the association agreement to go ahead.

Tymoshenko is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence on corruption charges that she insists are politically motivated.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions had declined to support any of the six proposals before parliament that would have paved the way for Tymoshenko to leave the country.

President Vladimir Putin had warned after the vote in Ukraine's parliament that if the trade agreements were signed at the upcoming EU summit in Lithuania, Russia "could not leave the gates with Ukraine as wide open as they are today."

Putin denied that Russia was "aggressively" seeking to influence Ukraine's decision, but warned that Russia would vigorously oppose any move by Ukraine to join NATO.

Posting on twitter, Carl Bildt, foreign minister of Sweden didn't welcome the announcement. He said: "Ukraine government suddenly bows deeply to the Kremlin. Politics of brutal pressure evidently works," 

What's  your thoughts on the story? Let us know with your comments below