Vice Premier and Social Policy Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Tigipko has said that a discussion on Ukraine's joining either the Customs Union or the European Union should be held at the national level, and added that a national referendum on the issue should be called.

"If there is a discussion on joining the Customs Union or the European Union, it should be held at the national level, and if we need a referendum for this, then we should call it," he told journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Tigipko added that the course to European integration is a state priority, according to Ukrainian legislation, as it could significantly benefit from entering the EU. At the same time, he mentioned that Russia is a strategic partner of Ukraine, and experts say that the Russian economy "will not drop as low as the European one."