The European Union said on Sunday that it was putting on hold work with Ukraine on a trade and cooperation agreement, saying the arguments being made by the Kiev government had “no grounds in reality.”
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele said on Twitter that he had told Ukraine's first deputy prime minister Serhiy Arbuzov last week that further discussion on the trade agreement was conditional on a clear commitment by Kiev to sign it, but he had not heard back from the Ukraine government.
As a result, work on the agreement was “on hold,” he said.
Meanwhile, at least 200,000 people gathered in the Ukraine capital for a Sunday rally by the opposition protesting the government's decision to back out of a treaty with the EU, AFP correspondents said.
Opposition leaders called the mass rally at noon (1000 GMT) on Kiev's Independence Square, which has been occupied for more than three weeks by protesters decrying President Viktor Yanukovych's rejection of the Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
