Representative of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in the Ukrainian Cabinet Andrei Gerus on the TV channel NewsOne said that "to stop overnight economic relations is unrealistic and impossible." At the same time, according to him, Kiev can “shoot itself in the foot” by such actions.
He noted that Ukrainian goods continue to be sold to Russia, which makes Ukraine "stronger" thanks to export earnings. In addition, there are still products that are actually Russian-made.
"There are some industries, especially energy, energy, where there is a really large percentage of deliveries from Russia, and, moreover, if we take oil products from Belarus, the Baltic states or even Poland, these products are still made from Russian oil," Gerus said .
The statement of Gerus corresponds to the current realities, says Sergey Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee.
“A sensible, correct statement corresponds to international realities. It is impossible to end economic relations between countries that were formed as a result of the collapse of one state, ”said Tsekov in an interview with RT.
According to him, a lot will depend on concrete steps and decisions of the new Ukrainian leadership.
“Now the biggest question is how Kiev will implement such statements. It is necessary to wait for real action, ”the senator stressed.
Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship, Vladimir Gutenyov also urged not to be surprised that Ukraine has sensible and pragmatic politicians.
“The development of interstate cooperation for Kiev is as good as for Moscow. Now we can only regret the lost time and the destroyed integration between high-tech industries, ”said the deputy.
He believes that ordinary citizens of Ukraine will make inevitable the restoration of ties with the Russian Federation in full.
“People are pushing elected leaders onto the path of interaction and integration with Russia. This statement is the beginning of the right steps in this direction, ”stated Gutenev in a conversation with RT.
Moscow is ready to develop trade relations and cooperation with Kiev. The Russian authorities have repeatedly spoken about this, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Ukraine remains one of our largest trade and economic partners. The trade turnover between Russia and Ukraine, despite the best efforts of today's Kiev authorities, is growing. Including grew over the outgoing year, ”the head of state explained during the final press conference in December 2018.
According to the Federal Customs Service, the turnover of foreign trade between Russia and Ukraine increased from $ 12.86 billion in 2017 to $ 14.98 billion in 2018. The State Statistics Service of Ukraine also noted that from January to November 2018, the country imported goods from Russia in the amount of $ 7.4 billion, which is 17.1% more than in the same period of 2017. Thus, the Russian Federation ranks first in terms of imports to Ukraine.
Recall that in 2015, Kiev abandoned the free trade zone with Moscow within the CIS and did not impose a ban on the import of a number of Russian goods. In response, the Russian side introduced its own restrictions, but stressed its readiness to lift restrictions in the case of appropriate actions of Kiev.
“To be honest, at the moment, the only thing that the president should do is to cancel all stupid sanctions and start negotiations with Russia in order to restore normal business relations. Zelensky's team speaks well, but their actions are far from real life. At the moment it is difficult to say that there will be a change of course, ”said the head of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, economist Alexander Okhrimenko.
The most revealing situation at the beginning of May was described by the director of the economic policy department of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, Sergey Salivon. He pointed out that over the past five years, the country's foreign trade with Russia has more than tripled. In addition, the official cited specific damage figures that Kiev suffered from its own decisions.
“If we assume that we are still buying gas in Russia, then both our exports to Russia and our imports from Russia fell by about $ 11.5 billion. Only $ 11.5 billion for Russia is less than 0.8% of GDP, and for Ukraine it is 10% of GDP. That is, the difference in losses is 13 times, ”he said.
Meanwhile, a week after this statement, the Ukrainian Cabinet approved the draft resolution “On Amendments to the List of Goods Prohibited for Importation into the Customs Territory of Ukraine, originating from the Russian Federation”. At the same time, Kiev did not introduce “sensitive imports” under the embargo, that is, coal, coke, gasoline, liquefied gas and pharmaceutical products.
“We will introduce special duties on Russian goods in order to give an absolutely worthy response to the aggressor in these three areas,” said Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman.
We add that, as of May 25, a 41-year-old politician resigning from the post of Prime Minister of Ukraine was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. At the same time, Groysman does not intend to abandon political activities, having announced plans to create his own party, Ukrainian Strategy, which will take part in the early elections to the Verkhovna Rada, scheduled for July 21.