Ukraine, EU discuss association deal

Ukrainian and EU officials said the coming months would be decisive to signing an Association Agreement between the two sides in November, after a meeting here Thursday. During talks between Ukraine First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Arbuzov and European Union (EU) Ukraine delegation head Ian Tombinsky, Arbuzov said his country would fulfill all the preconditions for European integration, according to a government press release. The two officials agreed both sides shared many common interests and expressed willingness to promote constructive cooperation, and they reiterated their commitment to signing the agreement during the next Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in November. Brussels and Kiev initialed a deal in March that includes arrangements for a free-trade area and could set the former Soviet republic on the way to full membership of the 28-member block. The EU postponed the signing of the document in May, citing court system shortcomings and a lack of reform in Ukraine.