Poland's FM on EU-Ukraine Deal: It's Over

World | November 29, 2013, Friday // 12:09|  views

A protester draped in an EU flag stands on the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, 29 November 2013. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Poland's foreign minister has confirmed there is hardly any hope of reviving the landmark trade pact with Ukraine at the first day of an EU summit in Vilnius.

And when asked how negotiations went, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said: "They didn't.

"It's over," he said.

Meanwhile Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite has said that EU "arguments did not reach Ukraine president's ear and mind".

"So far we see that positions have not changed," she said.

Despite the decision of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to freeze plans to sign the trade and reform deal, EU leaders have been trying to persuade him to change his mind.

The deal was planned as the highlight of the November 28-29 Eastern Partnership summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, according to reports of the BBC News.

Meanwhile, mass pro-EU protests in Ukraine continue.
The demonstrators oppose the government's decision to halt the signing of the EU agreement.

Earlier this week, Yanukovych dismissed an EU condition for signing the agreement - that former Ukrainian Prime Minister and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko be freed from jail.

He also requested more EU financial aid.

EU leaders issued a statement expressing their strong disapproval of the pressure exerted by Russia over Ukraine not to sign the deal, while Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the EU of "blackmail" against Ukraine.

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Tags: Eastern Partnership Summit, Vilnius, Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, Yulia Tymoshenko, Poland, Polish, Foreign Minister, Radek Sikorski

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