Ukraine is to review an agreement on the Common Economic Area project of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Ukraine’s new president Viktor Yushchenko told reporters in Krakov, Poland, on Thursday

Ukraine is to review an agreement on the Common Economic Area project of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Ukraine’s new president Viktor Yushchenko told reporters in Krakov, Poland, on Thursday. He was on the whole repeating a statement he made after meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week. In implementing regional projects, Yushchenko stressed, his country would be guided by national interests. Ukraine’s strategic goal was to join the European Union, he noted. During his visit to Moscow, Yushchenko said Ukraine would discuss the economic project with Russian authorities after forming Ukraine’s new government. Acting Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, Yushchenko’s staunch ally, is expected to be appointed as permanent Prime Minister early next month. The agreement on the Common Economic Area, designed to create a free trade zone without exemptions and restrictions, was signed by the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan on September 19, 2003. Yushchenko’s pro-Russian rival Viktor Yanukovich promised that Ukraine would sign new documents in 2005 breathing new life into the Common Economic Area project. Yushchenko is not keen on integration with former Soviet republics, but he realizes the necessity of restoring economic ties with Russia. There are two important issues on Ukraine’s agenda for 2005 – to sign a free trade zone agreement with the EU, and to enter the World Trade Organization.