KIEV, Dec. 29 – Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko hopes that the Association Agreement with the European Union will be initialed by mid-February.

"I am confident that during the first quarter, most likely by mid-February, we will initial [the agreement]," the minister said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He explained that initialing is a technical procedure, which has no fundamental significance for the future of the Association Agreement. "It is more import that during the summit the successful completion of the four-year negotiations was announced at the highest political level, and they affirmed that Ukraine meets all criteria of a European country, which has all the grounds to develop relations with the EU," Hryschenko said.