If Ukraine finds it of use it will join the Customs Union, President Viktor Yanukovych has said.
"We have made calculations, some of which indicate that membership of the Customs Union will bring us advantages, while others show that it is of no use. We must watch the Customs Union operating in a couple of years' time and see how relations will be structured within it, when its members join the World Trade Organization. If this membership is advantageous, provided there is political will, we will give our consent," Yanukovych said in an interview, published by the Kommersant Ukraine daily on Tuesday.
Yanukovych said he would reject ultimatums. "Guests are not invited the way Russia does. An invitation like that is tactless and humiliating for us. This language won't work with us, "Yanukovych said, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
The parliament and citizens must participate in decision-making on the country's membership of the Customs Union, Yanukovych said.
"We will turn to the Ukrainian parliament, as we will need to amend the Constitution, which today does not allow us to form supranational bodies. And we will turn to the people, if the need arises to call a referendum. So, concerning the prospects, we, as any normal state, continue assessing them," he said.
But Yanukovych said that Ukraine highly values Moscow's invitation for it to join the Customs Union. "When an invitation arrives, it is always welcome and we are grateful for it. But when we are being invited as now, we are surprised," Yanukovych said, noting that Ukraine has not rejected the talks on its accession to the Customs Union.
"The Customs Union has been formed and it is working, and we must understand how trade and economic relations should be built with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Perhaps it is normal not to be willing to create fresh problems for the industry and economy," Yanukovych said.
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