Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin warned of “grave consequences” for Ukraine’s signing of association agreements with the European Union (EU) on Friday.
The moves could bring aggravations in the future, Karasin said, although the signing of such significant documents is the right of every sovereign state.
“There is no doubt that the signing (of the EU deal) by Ukraine and Moldova will have major consequences, but we should calculate its implications in order to avoid future misunderstandings and suspicions,” the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later that Russia will take measures to protect its economy as soon as it faces negative consequences of the Ukraine-EU deal.
“As soon as the Association Agreements start to be implemented, we can talk about any protective measures,” Peskov said.
It is “evident” for Russia to take possible package of protective measures, “if it is indispensable for our economy,” he added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday Russia would take protective measures in case the EU agreements with the former Soviet republics negatively affect the trade within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The EU signed Association Agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine on Friday in Brussels. Ukraine and the EU signed economic provisions of the agreement, which removes tariffs on around 90 percent of the goods traded between the two sides.
Source: Xinhua
