Guest post: Ukraine sets course for Europe – beyondbrics - Blogs - FT.com:
"Ukraine, along with Georgia and Moldova, has signed far-reaching free trade and association agreements with the European Union. This is a landmark agreement for Ukraine and will be transformational.
Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, has indicated that his country aims for EU membership but this is a long-term goal, likely 10 to 15 years away at least. Ukraine is realistic and understands the changing politics in the EU, which goes against further enlargement as nationalism builds in EU member states. But as with Turkey, the EU accession process is more important than the end result. The process will transform Ukraine by providing a key anchor for reform. It will enable Ukraine to adapt to European core values including the rule of law, democracy and a market economy. This is what the Maydan demonstrations were all about.
Many people (surprisingly even in the west) argue that the EU was wrong in making Kiev decide between east and west and is therefore responsible for the subsequent violent developments in Ukraine. They also argue that Ukraine would benefit by being placed between east and west, as a conduit for trade between the two. I could not disagree more. This is simply naive."
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