Ukrainian government ends program of economic cooperation with Russia

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has terminated the program of economic cooperation between Ukraine and Russia for 2011-2020.

The respective decision was adopted without any discussion at a government meeting on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry, the termination of the program is part of a series of measures by the Ukrainian government aimed at counteracting Russia's aggressive policy in the general political context and in the trade and economic sphere in particular.

"Measures that Russia has systematically taken with respect to Ukraine over the past few years directly contradict the program's goals for the development of cooperation between the countries," reads the statement.

It also notes that since the end of 2015, Russian has consistently engaged in trade and transit aggression against Ukraine, in particular, by unilaterally terminating the free trade agreement as part of the CIS for Ukraine, in connection with which products originating from Ukraine are subject to import duties in the amount of rates of the single customs tariff of the EAEU, introducing a ban on imports of certain types of agricultural products, raw materials and foodstuffs, including those originating from Ukraine, and blocking the transit of Ukrainian goods through Russian territory.

The ministry added that the need to halt the Ukrainian-Russian economic cooperation program was supported at a meeting on December 28, 2017 by members of the working group on monitoring trade relations with Russia, which was set up at the Council for International Trade.

As reported, the economic cooperation program with Russia was approved on July 7, 2011 in Moscow. The document had to expire in 2020.