Ukraine's CIS chairmanship will not hinder EU Association Agreement implementation
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is sure that Ukraine's chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will not be an obstacle to the implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement with the European Union, which is to be signed in Vilnius in November.
"Many people are wondering today how Ukraine intends to chair the CIS and simultaneously implement the Association Agreement it is going to sign with the European Union in November this year. I'd like to stress in this connection that the conclusion of this agreement, by our estimates, is beneficial to both this document's signatories, that is, Ukraine and the EU, and all countries of the region," Yanukovych said at a press conference in Minsk following a CIS summit on Friday.
The Ukrainian president also supported his Belarusian counterpart by calling on Georgia to return to the CIS.
"A few years ago Georgia withdrew from our Commonwealth, I guess at that time it had some internal motives, but life forges ahead… Frankly speaking, and this is not just my opinion, we would like Georgia to return to the Commonwealth. I think Georgia will hear our message," Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.
"I totally agree and welcome the proposal of Alexander Grigoryevich to remind our friends in Georgia that the doors of the CIS are always open for them… The CIS is our platform where we have become used to agreeing and deciding on many matters and, as a rule, removing barriers," Yanukovych said.