[PieterCasparzen]

There a link to a pdf of the deal in this article.

Looks like a very big deal, IMHO, kind of NAFTA on steriods.

For your perusal...

[1rudeboy]

You can see why the communists (and the Russian revanchists) didn’t like it.

[cripplecreek]

Independence would have been tougher but wiser. They have good reasons for not wanting Russian interference but the EU is already staggering under the weight of failing economies.

[PieterCasparzen]

The link is at the highlighted text in this paragraph:

"*An eventual free trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU would save the country $670 million annually because of reduced EU import taxes. Ukraine would lose around $538 million in import duties coming from the EU."

The title page says:

EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area

Wikipedia article on EU-Ukraine trade relations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union_relations

[Olog-hai]

For years Yanukovych promised Ukrainians that he would sign an agreement with the EU, which would benefit Ukraine’s economy substantially. Protesters felt betrayed that he suddenly and without explanation shifted his position. …

Oh come on. Yanukovych has always been the Kremlin’s man; they knew that going back to the so-called Orange Revolution nine years ago.

Putin was never going to surrender the country that is essentially imperial Russia’s breadbasket (whether the Russian Empire, the USSR or the Eurasian Union).

[mac_truck]

If the West really wants to help out economically, would you explain why the EU/IMF is unwilling to negotiate a separate trade agreement with Ukraine in addition to the one they have with Russia?

[PieterCasparzen]

ping.