Opposition MPs in Ukraine are up in arms over the suspension of negotiations on a trade pact with the European Union, just a week before it was due to be signed.<br /><br />An order issued by Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated that talks on the long-planned Association Agreement with the EU were to be halted, adding that Kyiv would focus on strengthening economic ties with Moscow.<br /><br />Vitali Klitschko, leader of the UDAR party told euronews: “Prime Minister Azarov’s declaration completely contradicts his previous declarations and those of President Viktor Yanukovich concerning European integration.” <br /><br />“This means that they have messed us about – or, to tell the truth, they lied to heads of state, to the international community and to Ukrainians,” Klitschko continued.<br /><br />Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Yuri Boiko said that the suspending the deal made economic sense, telling a press conference: “We did not get a reassuring message from our European partners.”<br /><br />“We were not convinced that the losses in our commercial relations with Russia – which we’ve been suffering over the last four months – would be balanced by the future sales of our products in European markets,” Boiko continued.<br /><br />Euronews correspondent Sergio Cantone reported from Kyiv that the decision has been a “huge disappointment” for Western diplomats and that the “over-riding feeling” was that it was “a huge victory for Russia, as Ukraine distances itself from the EU.”
