Ukraine apparently wants to be part of EU, but also maintain Eurasian ties

Viktor Yanukovich

Ukrainian leaders want to be part of the Europe and be a bridge to Eurasia:

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych said his country will sign a free-trade pact with the EU, adding he wants to keep open an option of joining Russia in the Customs Union. Russia insists Ukraine cannot have both…

“Ukraine’s European aspirations are the main pillar of the country’s development,” Yanukovych said.

The Ukrainian government has already approved the draft resolution agreement with the EU which will be presented, and likely signed, at the EU summit in Lithuania on November 29.

“Our relations with the EU will benefit the customs union,” Yanukovych said. “Ukraine is a bridge between Russia and the EU and it’s very important to make sure the bridge is strong and reliable. Dialog between Ukraine, Russia and the EU on trade issues is possible in the near future.”

Ukraine would gain tariff-free access to the large European market as well as European goods. On the flip side, the apparent snub to Russia will be met with a great trade backlash that Russia says will be ‘suicidal’ for Ukrainian exports, which Russia forecasts will decline by 25 percent…

Russia insists it won’t let Ukraine into its Customs Union, if it seals a trade agreement with the EU. The latest threat came from the country’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who said “special trading partnership with Ukraine, which has operated up until now, will end.”

“We will remain friends, we will continue exports, but Ukraine will receive no special privilege, and perhaps even restrictions,” Medvedev said…http://rt.com/business/russia-ukraine-customs-eu-319/

At a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on Wednesday, Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov invited the heads of governments of the council member-states to hold trilateral talks in the Ukraine-EU-Customs Union format concerning the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

“I formally proposed the heads of governments to hold trilateral consultations… We are ready to respond to our partners’ concern, which arises from the alleged prospect of the surfeit of European goods in Ukrainian market,” he said opening a government meeting on Thursday. Azarov said that Ukraine was ready to convince its partners of reliable and time-tested trade mechanisms to prevent the re-export of European goods through Ukraine to the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/en/148/543148/

Russia has been trying to get many nations to cooperate with it, and not just Ukraine:

Russia has used economic and security threats to draw post-communist countries into its Eurasian Customs Union and to block the European Union’s Eastern Partnership initiative, which seeks the reform and possible eventual integration of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine into E.U. structures. Russian pressures have escalated with the approach of a November summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, at which several of the countries could sign association or free-trade agreements with the E.U…Ukraine is the biggest prize, and there Russia’s bullying has been particularly counter-productive. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/former-soviet-states-stand-up-to-russia-will-the-us/2013/09/26/b5ad2be4-246a-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_story.html

The ancient Medes seem to include some in Russia and the Ukraine. In the first century, Josephus wrote:

Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that, beginning at the mountains Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia…they called the nations by their own names…Now as to Javan and Madai, the sons of Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, who are called Medes, by the Greeks… Thobel founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberes; and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch…And so many were the countries that had the children of Japhet for their inhabitants. (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. VI, 1).

The late John Ogwyn wrote:

The tribes who traced their descent from the ancient Medes moved a little north and west to lay claim to the rich farmland of Little Russia, the Ukraine. From Meshech and Tubal came the Great Russians, who spread north and east, eventually establishing Moscow and the principality of Muscovy. The River Moskva, named for the people of Meshech (called Mushki or Moschi anciently), gave its name to the city and principality.

Ukraine would like to be a bridge. Russia would prefer it to be a border and not tied to Europe.

Biblically (because of prophecies involving the Medes and some in the “north and east” in Daniel 11:44), it would seem that Russia would be closer to Ukraine in the end than it appears to be right now. Yet it should also be mentioned that Bible prophecy indicates that there will be some type of cooperation between Russia and its allies and Europe for a while after the European Beast power has risen up (Revelation 13:3-4). This would seeming involve Ukraine.

However, Bible prophecy shows that ultimately Russia and its allies (likely to include Ukraine) will turn against the European Beast power–for biblical details, see Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?
The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy Is there a Eurasian union that will be formed? Is one being formed right now? Are any leaders working on that in the 21st century? Does the Bible teach that there will be a Eurasian union? If some type of Eurasian union is formed, who might it benefit and who will it destroy? A related video would be Is The Eurasian Union Rising?
Is There an Islamic Antichrist? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 Who is 666? This article explains how the COG views this, and compares this to Ellen White.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.