Yanukovych suggests Ukraine could enter customs union, but on WTO conditions

Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych has suggested that Ukraine could enter the common economic space (CES), although only on the conditions of the World Trade Organization (WTO), he said. 

“We have fallen far away from the process [of entering the CES]. Ukraine became a WTO member, and today the Ukraine’s entering the CES is possible only on the WTO terms,” the president said.

“We’d like that our partners become WTO members as soon as possible. The topic is urgent today, but it needs additional efforts. We don’t know how deeply our partners – Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan – have moved forward. Anyway, our specialists are working on the issue,” Yanukovych said.

In addition, Yanukovych said that it is necessary to make order in exports of Ukrainian steel to Russia.

“”I’d like to receive an answer what quotas for our steel Ukraine would have. The restrictions that had been imposed by Russia for five years impeded the development of commodity turnover between our countries. This policy was favorable neither for Ukraine nor Russia,” he said.