The next round of talks on the signing of an agreement on a free economic area between Israel and Ukraine will take place in Jerusalem in late December, Head of the Eurasian Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry Yaakov Livne has said.

"... We have started talks on a free economic area [with Ukraine]. At the end of December, Jerusalem will host another round of talks on this issue, and we expect that the agreement will be signed soon," he said in an interview with the Segodnya newspaper issued on Wednesday.

When asked whether this could affect the talks on Ukraine's possible accession to the Customs Union with Russia, Livne said that these two zones could coexist.

"Israel has similar agreements with the EU, the United States, and other countries. Moreover, our economies are more complementary than competitive. Ukraine was the first CIS country with which we have been negotiating a free economic area," he explained.

The Israeli diplomat also added that Russia was still considering whether to start talk on this matter, so Ukraine could become the first country in the former Soviet Union with which Israel creates a free trade zone.