Ukraine's 2014 national budget depends on trade talks with Russia – Azarov

The drop in trade with the CIS countries, notably with Russia, had a serious impact on Ukraine's economy, and the drawing up of the national budget for 2014 will depend on talks on trade with Russia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"Trade failures, especially with Russia, resulted in serious losses for GDP and budget revenues… No wonder that the drafting of the national budget and the main indices for economic development in 2014 will depend on how we reach mutual understanding with Russia," he told journalists in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

"Our task No. 1 is to revive growth rates and the volume of trade with Russia. It's not a task for this year, as one month is left until the next year," the premier said.

He also said that he was going to discuss the issue with Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev.

Azarov added that restoration of trade relations between Ukraine and the CIS will become possible as soon as their free trade area agreement is implemented in full. He said that all parts of the agreement have to be implemented in 2014.