Foreign Minister: Part of association agreement with Ukraine could soon be signed

The Czech foreign minister, Lubomír Zaorálek, has suggested that the political part of an EU Association Agreement could be signed with Ukraine by March 17 or at a meeting of EU foreign ministers beginning on March 20. Mr Zaorálek spoke to the Czech News Agency on Monday. The European Commission has not confirmed any exact dates; the spokeswoman for the EC said only that the signing of the agreement was a priority and that that would happen before May 25, when Ukraine will be holding presidential elections. It was a decision to halt preparations for the agreement by the former government in Kiev which started months of unrest which led to the ousting of former president Viktor Yanukovcyh.