EU Delegation to Ukraine says Russia should respect commitments in WTO

"The EU is assessing the situation, and in particular the compatibility of the various restrictions on transit, with the WTO rules. The EU is of the view, that all WTO members, including Russia should respect their multilateral commitments, irrespective of any political considerations," Head of the Delegation's Press and Information Section Jurgis Vilcinskas told Interfax-Ukraine when asked to comment on Russia's recent decisions related to transit shipments from Ukraine. Russia has introduced various trade restrictions and sanctions against Ukraine at the start of this year, following the provisional application of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), Vilcinskas said. "Russian retaliatory measures now go well beyond the suspension of certain preferences of the CIS-FTA and the food embargo also linked to other Ukrainian measures. Russia introduced severe restrictions and limitations on the supply of Ukrainian goods to Kazakhstan by transiting Russia," he said. He cited the Ukrainian Ministry of Economic Development, which said that all transit through Russia of Ukraine goods and transport by Ukrainian trucks had been in practice stopped.