Sergei Lavrov did not convince the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry of the prospects of the Customs Union

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov completed his visit to Chernivtsi yesterday, where he held talks with his new Ukrainian colleague Leonid Kozhara. And then speaking at a local university, the Russian minister announced that there were no insurmountable differences between Moscow and Kiev, and detailed the economic benefits of Ukraine's potential membership in the Customs Union. However, Kyiv is in no hurry to move in this direction. Kommersant correspondent PAVEL TARASENKO provides details.

The arrival of Sergei Lavrov and Leonid Kozhara in Chernivtsi was an event for this Ukrainian city not far from the Romanian border. Local nationalists prepared especially carefully for it. They stood in the way of the Russian delegation’s motorcade with EU flags, making it clear which path Ukraine had chosen. And several dozen supporters of the Freedom movement marched from the central square of the city to the Chernivtsi National University (CNU), the main building of which became the venue for a meeting of the subcommittee on international cooperation of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission. With posters “The future of Ukraine is in Europe” and “If they give gas, they take away freedom,” they broke into the territory of the university, but were stopped by the police. By the time the motorcade arrived, the demonstrators were pushed to one of the nearby streets, from where the ministers could not see them, but they could be clearly heard, especially their friendly cries of “Shame!”

The Ukrainian authorities tried their best to smooth out the effect of the nationalists’ speeches and regularly reminded guests that they were welcome here. “Personal chemistry plays a significant role in interstate relations,” Leonid Kozhara assured his colleague. “Our first meeting since I took office as Minister of Foreign Affairs allowed us to determine the friendly atmosphere in our relations.”

Mutual assurances of friendship continued the next day. “I am convinced that together we can do a lot,” Sergei Lavrov said in a speech at ChNU after he was awarded the title of honorary doctor of science. He received his degree not for scientific achievements, but for supporting the nomination of the main building of the university, which previously served as the residence of the metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia, for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The same honorary title was awarded to Leonid Kozhara.

Sergei Lavrov told students and teachers that he discussed with Ukrainian colleagues issues of interaction between the consular services of the two countries, joint counteraction to new challenges and threats, the Azov-Kerch settlement, as well as cooperation in international organizations. The latter primarily meant the OSCE, of which Ukraine became its chairman on January 1. Sergei Lavrov said that he would discuss specific issues related to the activities of this organization with his Ukrainian counterpart in Moscow.

Despite the tone of the ministers' statements, experts remind that at least one serious irritant in relations between Moscow and Kyiv remains. “Ukraine wants, without fully joining the Customs Union, to receive preferences in certain areas. Moscow is categorically not satisfied with this format,” Ukrainian political scientist Dmitry Ponamarchuk explained to Kommersant. “In particular, Russia rejects any possibility of negotiations on reducing gas prices for Ukraine without her joining the union."

“We are not forcing Ukraine to join the Customs Union,” a source close to the Russian delegation assured Kommersant. “Of course, from a geopolitical point of view, this would be desirable for us, but otherwise no one will shed tears. We just want Kyiv is clear on this issue."

Due to the lack of any progress on the Customs Union, the Ukrainian side even asked journalists in advance not to ask the ministers questions on this topic. However, yesterday Sergei Lavrov himself spoke about the prospects for the integration project of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. “All the main tasks to ensure the functioning of the Customs Union have been completed. Our association is already bringing concrete practical benefits,” the Russian minister announced, after which he warned against “attempts to artificially contrast integration processes” in Europe. “Our neighbors should not be faced with an artificial choice between the “Western” and “Eastern” vectors of development,” he warned.

Dmitry Ponamarchuk is confident that no changes in relations between Kyiv and Russia should be expected until at least February 25 - on this day, at the Ukraine-EU summit, an agreement should be signed to complete the first stage of the transition to a visa-free regime. However, according to the expert, Kyiv will continue to pursue “a multi-vector foreign policy with a more favorable attitude towards Moscow than towards the West.”

Ukraine is in no hurry to join the union