Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Jan Tombinski has said he hopes that the granting of observer status in the Customs Union to Ukraine won't contradict the country's integration with other unions, such as the European Union.

"If Ukraine's observer status at the Customs Union doesn't require the delegation of the sovereign rights of Ukraine to Customs Union agencies, then Ukraine will remain a country with complete sovereignty in other directions," Tombinski said on Thursday at an expert forum "Ukraine 2013. Agenda" organized by the Gorshenin Institute.

The EU ambassador once again stressed that Ukraine's full membership of the Customs Union and the creation of free trade areas with the EU are mutually exclusive.

As reported, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has announced that a memorandum on granting observer status in the Customs Union to Ukraine would be signed in Minsk on May 31 during the meeting of CIS heads of governments.