Ukraine snubs Russia, signs EU pact

After signing an economic and political pact with the European Union, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared Friday in Brussels, “What a great day!”
After signing an economic and political pact with the European Union, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared Friday in Brussels, “What a great day!”

BRUSSELS -- Ukraine's new president signed a sweeping economic and political pact with the European Union on Friday, ignoring the protests of Russia, which warned of possible trade sanctions.

"What a great day!" a beaming President Petro Poroshenko said in Brussels. "Maybe the most important day for my country after independence" from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Russia opposes closer ties between Ukraine and the EU. Moscow is loath to see its historic influence wane in its strategic neighbor, which it considers the birthplace of Russian statehood and of Russian Orthodox Christianity.

"There will undoubtedly be serious consequences for Ukraine and Moldova's signing," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said. The former Soviet republics of Moldova and Georgia also signed agreements with the EU on Friday.

Poroshenko's pro-Moscow predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, had backed out of signing the agreement in November, igniting the bloody protests that toppled his government in February. Tensions between Ukrainians in the west who want closer ties with Europe and those who favor traditional ties with Russia sparked an insurgency in the east and Russia's annexation of the mainly Russian-speaking Crimean Peninsula in March.

EU leaders decided at a meeting Friday not to immediately impose new sanctions on Russia for destabilizing eastern Ukraine. But in a statement, they warned that new sanctions have been prepared so they could be levied "without delay," and listed several demands for Vladimir Putin's government and the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

On Friday, celebrations were muted at Kiev's Independence Square, where the protests began. Blue balloons -- the color of the EU flag -- were released and rose over the crowd of several hundred as a rock band pounded out the EU's anthem, the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Protest veteran Oleg Mityukhin, 48, arrived wrapped in the Ukrainian flag.

"I think there will be less corruption, there will be better quality goods, and it will be a push forward for the development of Ukraine," he said.

His wife, Oksana, 46, also expressed optimism about the future and the impact of the treaty. "It depends on us, on each one of us," she said.

In a speech, Poroshenko reminded EU leaders of the scores of Ukrainians who died opposing Yanukovych's government and in the ongoing battle against the insurgency.

Ukraine "paid the highest possible price to make her European dreams come true," he said, asking the leaders to take a further step and formally pledge that one day Ukraine can join the 28-nation bloc.

That "would cost the European Union nothing," he said, "but would mean the world to my country."

The agreements signed Friday let businesses in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia trade freely in any of the EU's nations without tariffs or restrictions as long as their goods and practices meet EU standards. Likewise, goods and services from the EU will be sold more easily and cheaply in the three countries.

European Commission experts estimate the deal will boost Ukraine's national income by $1.6 billion a year.

The trade deal also demands that Ukraine change the way it does business. Adopting EU rules on government contracts, competition policy and copyright for ideas and inventions should improve Ukraine's economy by reducing widespread corruption and making it more investor-friendly.

Putin did not immediately comment on the trade pact but has signaled that he wants to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine. Poroshenko began a unilateral cease-fire against the separatists a week ago.

"The most important thing is to guarantee a long-term cease-fire as a precondition for meaningful talks between the Kiev authorities and representatives of the southeast [of Ukraine]," Putin said Friday.

The week-long cease-fire, which both sides have been accused of violating, expired at 10 p.m. Kiev time. After consulting with military and security officials Friday night, Poroshenko declared its extension until 10 p.m. Monday.

The EU leaders gave the Russian government and the rebels until Monday to take steps to improve the situation in eastern Ukraine, including agreeing on a way to verify the cease-fire, returning three border checkpoints to Ukraine, releasing all captives and launching "substantial negotiations" on Poroshenko's peace plan.

Insurgent leader Alexander Borodai said the rebels are ready to extend a cease-fire and will soon release the European observers they have been holding for weeks.

He spoke after talks Friday in the eastern city of Donetsk involving a former Ukraine president, the Russian ambassador and an envoy from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Borodai, however, demanded Ukrainian troops withdraw from eastern Ukraine and rejected the EU demand to withdraw from the Ukrainian checkpoints on the border with Russia they have seized.

Information for this article was contributed by Vladimir Isachenkov, Laura Mills, David McHugh, Gier Moulson, Juergen Baetz and Balint Szlanko of The Associated Press.

A Section on 06/28/2014

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