TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Divisions emerged in the European Union's policy towards Ukraine on Monday as the Dutch foreign minister slapped down a senior EU official for announcing on Twitter that he had suspended work on a trade agreement with Kiev.



EU foreign ministers arriving for talks on the EU's relations with Ukraine and Russia said the door remained open for Ukraine to seal a far-reaching trade and political agreement with Brussels despite Kiev's last-minute decision in November to pull back from signing the deal.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans sharply criticized EU enlargement chief Stefan Fuele, the official in charge of negotiations with Ukraine, who announced on Twitter on Sunday that talks with Ukraine were on hold because Kiev had failed to give a clear commitment to sign the trade deal, Reuters reported.

"I think making policy on the basis of a Twitter notice by Mr Fuele is perhaps not the best way of approaching this issue," he told reporters. "There was no reason from a Dutch point of view to suspend talks."

"I believe the best signal we can give Ukraine is simply that the door is still open," he said.

Fuele's decision reflected growing frustration among EU officials at what they see as the inconsistent position taken by President Viktor Yanukovich, who sometimes appears to be veering towards Brussels and at others towards Moscow.

Yanukovich's decision to abandon the EU deal�last month in favor of closer ties with Russia sparked weeks of mass protests in Kiev.

By Tasnim News Agency�

 

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