Caspian Report - Issue 06 - Winter 2014

SERGII TOLSTOV
104
proposed a way of shifting the responsibility
to the external supranational
body.
Yanukovich’s visit to Moscow (17 December
2013) secured the strategic
advantages of the governmental authorities
over both the “Maidan” and
the opposition. Any ultimatums from
the opposition delivered to the president
and the government including
the requirement to hold pre-time
elections approved by the European
parliament resolution dated 12 December
2013 lose their relevance.
Having resolved the financial deficit
problems through the support
of Russia’s leadership, Yanukovich
can potentially resolve the political
problems as well.
In relations with Brussels, official
Kiev is definitely not interested in
maintaining or increasing the tensions.
However, the text of the Association
Agreement (especially as
regards the Free Trade Zone and
appendices about the quotas and
the interim periods) can hardly be
signed in its current form. The same
applies to the negotiations with the
IMF, which Kiev will be able to pay
out its debts.
In the current situation, a real and
practical way of rendering assistance
to the Ukrainian society from
the European politicians could be
finding a new format for relations
that reflect the autonomous status
of Ukraine in the European security
balance and recognition that its economic
ties with the CIS market space
are of vital importance.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
1. The developments in the fall of
2013 convincingly demonstrated
the failures of the Ukrainian government’s
plans to create an asymmetric
free trade regime in several strategic
directions. The main reason for the
failure of this foreign economic strategy
was the absolute disagreement on
the side of the EU and Russia with Kiev’s
intentions and proposals reflecting
the vital importance of intensive
links with both market spaces. This
was accompanied by the sharpening
of territorial competition between
the European and Eurasian integration
projects. According to the EU, the
extension of the European economic
standards to the countries of the
“Eastern partnership” was considered
as a pretext for their gradual accession
to the EU economic space without
applying the program of four basic
market freedoms to its members.
Russia’s leadership refused to build
up relations between the Customs
Union and Ukraine based on “3+1”
formula. In connection with this, the
Russian government has discovered
in Kiev’s plans an attempt to create
within the framework of the CIS Free
Trade Zone a zone of uncontrolled reexport
of goods of European and, evidently,
Asian origin including the engineering
products of group assembly.
2. . Introduction of customs restrictions
on Ukrainian exports to Russia
in August-September 2013 demonstrated
the vulnerability of the Ukrainian
economy and its critical dependence
on its commodity exports on
the Russian market. In this connection
it is worth noting that according