Ukraine and the European Union will not sign the Association and Free Trade Area Agreement during the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius because the Ukrainian authorities' position remains unchanged, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The agreement will not be signed in the end because the Ukrainian side has not changed its mind. We were ready to discuss this issue. Multiple options were considered, but the president of Ukraine did not change his mind," he said.

When asked whether the possibility of holding trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russia talks had been discussed, Linkevicius admitted that this topic had been addressed at the very beginning of the summit, but the EU made it clear that "this path was unacceptable."

"We cannot imagine how a third party can take part in the processes that are exclusively a matter for bilateral talks, in which any third party has no authority," the minister said.

When commenting how this situation might impact further relations between the EU and Russia, Linkevicius said that Brussels attached great importance to its relationship with Moscow, but would draw certain conclusions.

As for further relations between Ukraine and the EU and the fate of their Association Agreement, "the ball is now in Ukraine's court."

"Everything depends on them. Our offer remains on the table, and we will revisit this issue as soon as the Ukrainian side is ready for that," he said.

Asked whether or not the Association Agreement might be signed at a Ukraine-EU summit in March, Linkevicius suggested that this event would offer "another opportunity" for it.