On the 1,025th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus in Kyiv Russia’s president Vladimir Putin described the benefits Ukraine got in Russia and Soviet empires. The rhetoric used in communist times remained the same as in Soviet times. That was yet another attempt to persuade Ukraine not to sign EU-Ukraine association agreement.
“Russia always uses religion as argument on the “historical unity” of two nations. For the time being orthodoxy is one of the means to drag Ukraine into a new Russia’s controlled integration body. Being in Kyiv Kremlin leader again implied that Ukraine should join Customs union of Russia, Belarus’ and Kazakhstan,” writes BlogActive.
READ ALSO: Caught in a Zeitnot
Despite Kremlin’s attempts, the question of the joining to Customs union is not on Ukraine’s agenda. “ Kyiv told that it does not have plans to join Customs union and now just trying to sweeten Kremlin’s disappointment and anger,” writes BlogActive.
Moreover, as dialogue between EU and Ukraine is processing. So hopes to good outcomes of Vilnius Summit remain. But there are number of other obstacles which Ukraine should remove till October.