Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius has said that Lithuania, which holds the presidency of the European Union, rejects a proposal by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers to establish trilateral dialogue between Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.
Linkevicius said in a statement, “The proposal for the trilateral dialogue is not an option and has no precedents. EU proposal for bilateral association remains on the table and we see no role for third countries in this process.”
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers issued on November 21 a directive on suspension of the process of preparation to sign the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.
At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers initiated the establishment of a trilateral commission with the participation of the European Union and Russia. According to the document, the trilateral commission should "study a set of issues aimed at restoring lost production and trading/economic relations, expanding and facilitating international trade and further market liberalization, as well as harmonizing the regulatory framework to improve the conditions for doing business."
Even before this Cabinet of Ministers statement was circulated, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called for trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union in a statement in Moscow.
