THE HAGUE, Nov. 26 - Ukraine's president has strongly defended a pact his country signed with the European Union, calling it "the last farewell to the Soviet Union, the last farewell to Communism."

Petro Poroshenko's comments Thursday came during a visit to the Netherlands, which is holding a non-binding referendum next year on whether the Dutch government should support the association agreement with the 28-nation bloc, AP reported.