Russia is still Whining about the Ukraine Trade Pact with the EU

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko holds up a ratified
copy of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement

What's VLAD's Problem? Isn't Ukraine a free country? Shouldn't they be free to make decisions based on WHAT'S BEST FOR THEM and Not Russia?

A top European Union official backed away from a pledge not to allow changes to the bloc's newly ratified trade pact with Ukraine, a move likely to intensify Russian pressure on the country even as its president insisted Thursday that the doors to Europe remained open.

"I think it's in the interests of everybody now to work constructively on these matters," European Commission President José Manuel Barroso told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "We are open and we are constructive and are pragmatic."

The comments mark a change in tone from Brussels, which had previously ruled out any reworking of the accord. The EU and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko already agreed Sept. 12 to delay implementing key sections on trade until 2016. Russia, in turn, agreed to back off a threat to impose sweeping trade restrictions on Ukraine.

But last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his economy minister, Alexei Ulyukayev, both sent letters to EU officials warning that Russia could still retaliate against Ukraine for ratifying the deal.

Mr. Barroso, whose term expires this fall, said Thursday that if Kiev requested it, the EU would be willing to discuss both the implementation of the agreement and its impact on Russia.

"If the Ukrainians, listening to Russian concerns, want to discuss some matters with us, of course we are ready to listen," he said.

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