Ukraine's envoy to the EU, Ambassador Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, has stated that Ukraine would receive only short-term dividends from its accession to the Customs Union.

"Accession to the Customs Union could give Ukraine only short-term dividends: the several billion U.S. dollars Moscow is talking about is payment for loss of Ukraine's sovereignty within the context of its own trade policy, and giving up its course to European integration," the diplomat wrote in the article entitled "Seven Myths about the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement" posted on the Web site of the Ukrainska Pravda online publication on Wednesday.

At the same time, he said that the Association Agreement with the EU legally confirms political guarantees on the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The diplomat also noted that the creation of a free trade area with the EU would open up access to a bigger and more predictable market with a higher consumer paying capacity. In addition, he said that the free trade area with the EU would stimulate an improvement of the business climate in Ukraine, strengthen the rule of law, and result in the modernization of the country.

"They are trying to make Ukraine choose between the EU and the Customs Union. The Customs Union is raising the issue in the most categorical manner, which is a paradox… Choosing between the EU and the Customs Union means choosing between the obvious and the hypothetical, [between] reliable and risky options. They are suggesting that we forget about 'a civilized choice,' the political rhetoric of two decades of Ukrainian independence, the efforts applied to follow the European way, and pull a 180-degree turn to support a relatively new regional project, for which the Ukrainian society has many political questions," Yeliseyev said.

He added that Ukraine should search for a compromise between the European and Russian directions, but not "at the expense of giving up the European choice."

"Ukraine should associate with the EU, as well as integrate in Europe. If Russia as a leader in the Customs Union follows not only its own interests, as well as respects interests of its partners, then it should give Ukraine a chance to combine European integration on the one hand with partnership in the Custom Unions on the other," the diplomat said.