The job of defining Ukraine's foreign-policy priorities is solely within the competence of the president and parliament, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in Tuesday's comments on Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych's statements made at United Russia's congress.
"While not denying a parliamentary deputy the right to express his position, we would like to note that the job of defining the country's foreign-policy priorities lies exclusively within the competence of the president and the Verkhovna Rada, not political party leaders," the Foreign Ministry said.
The Party of Regions' idea of restoring the common economic space was, what the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said, "in discord" with the talks on the free trade zone with European Union - "the more so, since the course towards European integration, of which the formation of a free trade zone is an integral part, have always been supported by the Party of Regions," the ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry also said it was surprised by Yanukovych's position on the conflict in Georgia. "It is difficult to imagine a politician of national standing associating himself so openly with the state that used force disproportionately, crudely violated international law and was condemned by the international community after it recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
