The Verkhovna Rada, including the “regionals”, approved the agreement with the EU, which Russia opposed
Kyiv, September 16 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Ryabov) – The Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday ratified an association agreement with the European Agreement, the approval of which Russia opposes. Representatives of Petro Poroshenko's administration previously said that the agreement politically definitively separates the former Soviet republic from Moscow.
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The decision was supported by 350 deputies, including representatives of the Party of Regions faction. The deputies greeted the result with applause and began singing the Ukrainian anthem. Everything that happened was broadcast live in the hall of the European Parliament, which also ratified the agreement with Ukraine today.
“The atmosphere that reigns in the Verkhovna Rada hall is very reminiscent of the atmosphere in 1991, when we gained independence,” said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
“The Heavenly Hundred and 872 brave Ukrainian soldiers died not only for Ukraine. They laid down their heads so that we would take our rightful place in the family of European nations... Since the Second World War, no nation has ever paid such a high price for the right to be Europeans. Who now, after this, will dare to close the doors to Ukraine in the EU?” – the head of state added, addressing the European deputies.
“European integration has become our Ukrainian national idea... Internal and external attempts to stop our strategic decision have already failed... Today is a holiday not only for Ukraine, but for the entire united Europe, which does not exist without Ukraine. We withstood this powerful pressure, we did not succumb to this blackmail,” Poroshenko asserts.
“If someone tries to open an internal front, it will be against Ukraine, neither I nor the government will allow this,” the president also warned.
However, Poroshenko’s words are rather pre-election rhetoric, since the day before he was criticized by his former Maidan allies for the fact that the association agreement with the EU would come into force in a truncated form.
The economic part of the document will become operational only in a year and a half. This decision was made the day before by the European Union. The Western press claims that this happened as a result of pressure from Moscow. In fact, by postponing the agreement with Ukraine, Europe recognized that Russia has a say in the negotiations, wrote the American Time magazine.
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