SOCHI. Sept 16 (Interfax) - Russia will not force Ukraine to join the Customs Union, but the advantages emerging from this are far more impressive than Ukraine's gains from its integration with the European Union, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
"We have just spoken about problems in the Eurozone. It is difficult for me to imagine Ukraine joining the Eurozone in this setting. It's an absolutely unrealistic thing," Putin told an investment forum in Sochi in remarks about the Ukrainian president's refusal to accept the invitation to join the Customs Union.
"This statement conveys political emotions rather than anything else," he said.
Putin said he has not seen Yanukovych's statement on Ukraine's refusal to join the Customs Union, but noted that "final decisions are always made by the people in this or that country in an open discussion and in law-stipulated procedures of making crucial decisions."
"It is always the nation's sovereign choice where to move and which organizations to join," Putin said.
In the current economic conditions in the European Union, Euro-integration is possible for Ukraine only as a strategy, the prime minister said. "But even here questions arise about economic common sense and about what brings better advantages. This is to be decided by our Ukrainian colleagues. Should they push toward the European zone or make use of the advantages connected with enormous cooperation between the Ukrainian and Russian economic branches," he said.