Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara has said he is confident that his country's association with the EU will have a positive effect, including for Russia.

"We suggested to our Russian colleagues that we set up an expert group between Russia, Ukraine and the EU in order to analyze in a spirit of openness the possible consequences of association for Ukraine," he said at a meeting of the subcommittee for international cooperation of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission in Rostov-on-Don on Monday.

"Association with the EU and the signing of a free trade agreement will have a positive effect, including for Russia and our colleagues in the Customs Union and the CIS," he added.

Kozhara said at a press conference after the meeting that in the context of the signing of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine Kyiv and Moscow should focus on their future cooperation.

"We also exchanged views on Ukraine's readiness to sign the Association Agreement with the EU. I think that in this context Ukraine and Russia should focus their efforts on finding the best model of our bilateral cooperation and economic interaction," he said.

He said that the nature of the communication had confirmed the readiness of the sides to find mutually acceptable solutions in bilateral relations.