Ukrainian govt submits to Rada bill on retaliatory sanctions against Russia

The Ukrainian government is submitting to the parliament a bill that will allow for the imposition of retaliatory trade sanctions on any country, including Russia, in the event of their imposition on Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.

"The Ukrainian government will react to any Russian decision with retaliatory sanctions. That's why the Ukrainian government submits to the parliament today a bill on changes to the law on foreign economic activities for to give the government lawful powers to impose retaliatory economic sanctions against Russia and any other country,' Yatseniuk told a government meeting on Wednesday.

Russian Trade and Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev earlier said the trilateral consultations between Russia, the EU and Ukraine held in Brussels on December 1 did not lead to the necessary agreements and said experts were ordered to find acceptable solutions to eliminate Russia's concerns over EU-Ukraine association within a month, but "extraordinary efforts" are needed to prevent the imposition of a food embargo and a non-preferential trade regime against Ukraine from January 1.