Ukraine trade pact talks with Russia end without result

John Smith, the department’s sanctions boss, says Russian Federation must adhere to February’s cease-fire for Ukraine.

European Union leaders also chose to extend the sanctions until mid-2016- because the Minsk peace deal, aimed at settling the eastern Ukraine conflict, had not been fulfilled as planned by the end of this month.

“We were quite close to finding some solutions but today there was not enough flexibility from the Russian side”, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said after talks in Brussels with top Russian and Ukrainian officials.

Yet Russia argues that the upcoming trade agreement between Kiev and Brussels, known officially as the “EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area”, threatens to turn Ukraine into a backdoor for cheap EU exports to Russia.

The third one was a commentary about how the situation in Russia was intolerable and Russians needed to follow the example of Ukraine’s Maidan activists, take to the streets, and bring down the government. “In the meantime, with zero customs duties remaining between us and Ukraine, all European goods will go to Ukraine, replacing ours, among others, and to our country”, Putin said.

The sanctions, which were introduced in the July past year in response to Russia’s involvement in the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, will stay in place until 31 July 2016.

According to V.Petryshche, if the Russian sanctions against Turkey enter into force, Ukraine will be able to take the share of Russian sunflower oil on the Turkish market.

Meanwhile, Russia and France have agreed to bolster efforts to share intelligence relating to the Islamic State militant group after the two countries vowed to cooperate militarily on the issue.

In August 2014, Moscow imposed a food ban on a wide range of food imports from European Union, U.S., Norway, Canada and Australia in retaliation for the Western sanctions against Russian Federation over its role in the Ukraine conflict.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that he welcomed the extension.

“We have an agreement about a complete and unconditional ceasefire that will begin at 00.00 hours on the night of December 22-23”, said Darka Olifer, who is press secretary for Ukrainian negotiator and former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, writing on her Facebook page.

The mercenaries have been also redeployed in the Gorlovka direction, he said.

“Russia is in full control in Donbas, there is a Russian officer in every rebel unit”, Mr. Klimkin said.