Yerevan/Mediamax/. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said the EU understands Russia’s wish to have more countries join the Customs Union.

The EU Foreign Policy Chief wrote about it in her “Stop Reflecting on the Spheres of Influence” article published in Kommersant newspaper today. Ashton’s article was a response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s “In the Perception of the EU and the U.S. the "Free Choice" is Already Made for Ukrainians” article published on  February13.

“Russia’s wish to have more countries join the Customs Union is an important factor. We do understand this wish. And we believe the countries, which are already Customs Union member states, will also benefit from closer relations with the EU. We insist on the essence of respecting the strategic decisions of those countries; states able to join the Customs Union in the future should do it upon their own wish”, Catherine Ashton pointed out.

“History and experience show that external pressure is not only unacceptable but it doesn’t allow reaching a long-term solution either. At the Summit, we insisted on it in terms of our relations with Moldova and Georgia as well. The situation in Ukraine serves as a substantial proof. Ukrainian President’s sudden change of stance after five years of negotiations held on the association with the EU led to the deepest political crisis in the country since its independence. It simply scored out the hopes of millions of Ukrainians for the trade growth with the EU as well as for more effective management and improvement of living standards”, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs wrote.