KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Ukraine will stay in the Single Economic Space with Russia no matter who is elected president, the nation's finance minister said Thursday.
Possible changes in Ukraine's political elite will not prompt the country to pull out of the Single Economic Space with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, Ukrainian Finance Minister Myloka Azarov said at the international workshop on the Single Economic Space, according to an Interfax-Ukraien news agency report.
"This ideology (the Single Economic Space) above all meets Ukraine's economic interests, so it depends less on politics and personalities in Ukraine," Azarov said. "The dynamic of the Single Economic Space's creation may at some point slow down, however in any event (the project) will be implemented."
Azarov appeared to be trying to reassure Ukraine's partners in the SES there would be no significant change if pro-American Viktor Yushchenko wins the second-round run-off vote in the nation's presidential election Nov. 21. Russia has backed the other remaining contender, current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
