Lavrov slams European parliamentarian's comments on Ukraine's relations with Customs Union

European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Elmar Brok's statement about impossibility for Ukraine to join the Belarusian-Kazakh-Russian Customs Union is a sign of either his incompetence or partiality, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"He came to Kiev and said: President [Viktor] Yanukovych did the right thing by not going to Moscow. Because accession to the Customs Union and any relations with the Customs Union in general go directly against [Ukraine's] movement toward integration into Europe," Lavrov said.

The Russian minister pointed out that both the Customs Union and the European Union are based on World Trade Organization's principles.

"This was said by a politician occupying quite a significant position, who simply demonstrated his absolute incompetence, because both the Customs Union and the EU are based on the WTO principles, and they are absolutely compatible, or perhaps he demonstrated his absolute partiality, and this means that our relations with the European Parliament are very poor," Lavrov said in commenting on Brok's words.

The European Commission and its executive bodies are "quite reserved about excesses that European parliamentarians allow themselves," he said.

"But this case in itself is simply astonishing, as our neighbors are being advised - and not even advised but forced - not to befriend the Customs Union. This is totally out of place," he said.

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