KIEV, March 18 – Ukraine still hopes to create a free-trade area with the European Union, while considering the possibility of reaching similar agreements with Turkey and Israel, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.

"We still hope to reach a compromise [in talks on a free trade area]. We are being warned from all sides. I will not specify - if you follow the press, you probably know. I've recently been to Turkey, and, for example, [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan says: 'What prevents you from signing an agreement [with Turkey] on a free trade area? I'm ready to sign it tomorrow,'" Azarov said at a meeting with British investors in Ukraine in Kiev on Friday.