Agro Perspectiva

Azarov: We start a "reset" of agenda of bilateral relation with Russia

21.10.2013 13:28 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — During the 10th meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, held on October 15 in Kaluga (Russia) a «reset» of bilateral relations has been launched — from the issues that cause controversy to the issues of pragmatic cooperation beneficial for both parties. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on October 17, 2013, Government Portal reports. According to the PM, the main task of Ukraine for the meeting of Intergovernmental Committee was to agree «roadmaps» of industrial cooperation and resolution (or rather the removal of obstacles) in trade, investment, financial and sectoral cooperation. The Committee performed this task. Most of the problems that have been not solved for a long time at the tenth meeting were on the agenda for the resolving. «Overall I optimistically accept the results of the Intergovernmental Committee. In my opinion, we began to „reset» bilateral relations on the issues that cause controversy, issues of pragmatic cooperation beneficial to both parties. It is the task set before the government by President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin," Mykola Azarov noted. At the same time the PM stressed that the issue of free trade between Ukraine and the European Union at the last meeting was considered «not as a threat to our bilateral relations, but as a task to analyze objectively which conditions for Russian-Ukrainian cooperation this creates to avoid any additional obstacles to our cooperation.» The PM drew attention of his partners that «We must find the benefits, and not create artificial difficulties.» «And this is the only productive format of dialogue of the Customs Union with Ukraine, the format, incidentally, supported by Belarus and Kazakhstan,» Mykola Azarov noted. Recall that on October 15 the Roadmap for the implementation of Ukrainian-Russian cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes by 2016 and the a Memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the use of civil earth remote sensing national space crafts and a Roadmap on investment, financial and sectoral cooperation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation were signed. In addition, at the meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation plans to implement a number of large-scale international projects were agreed. We begin to establish a joint venture to recover the serial production of An-124 family aircrafts with Ukrainian engines D-18T. It was also agreed to end joint flight test of best-in-class AN-70 transport aircraft, so that by February 1 of 2014 to make a decision on its serial production. A joint Ukrainian-Russian project on construction of a nuclear fuel plant in Kirovograd region has already implemented from September. We begin our studies of organizational and legal form and specification of the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. Have agreed on the development of transport (road and rail) corridors that connect Europe and Asia, as well as the extension of proven practice of joint and simplified customs and border control at all railway express train that run between the two countries. Ukrainian-Russian scientific and technological cooperation will also be activated. In particular, the Ukrainian technologies will be extensively used in Nuclotron-Based Ion Collider Facility Project (NIKA) created on the basis of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. Both parties also agreed to elaborate (together with Kazakhstan partners) within six months an economic and regulatory framework of the Black Sea Grain Committee (the so-called Grain Pool), which is to significantly improve the conditions of trade with this strategic resource - grain - for its producers and consumers.