KIEV, May 19 – Parliament, by a strong majority, recommended on Thursday the government pursue a free-trade agreement with the European Union by the end of the year and calling it a foreign policy “priority.”

Lawmakers, in a resolution, also called for “interaction” with a Russian-led trade bloc, gave this policy a much lower status.

The resolution, approved by 289 lawmakers in the 450-seat Parliament, shows strong sentiment across the political spectrum that Ukraine must work to secure closer cooperation with the EU. It may also signal an end to debate on whether to join the Russian-led Customs Union.

“Parliament has put a period in discussions over Ukraine’s joining of the Customs Union,” Mykola Tomenko, a deputy speaker of Parliament, said.

The approval of the resolution comes a day after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made it clear that Ukraine must decide which way to go: Brussels or Moscow.

Medvedev indicated that Ukraine cannot sit “on two chairs,” and indicated that Moscow would resort to trade restrictions if Kiev decided to move economically and politically closer to Brussels.

The resolution echoes position of President Viktor Yanukovych, who has suggested last month that Ukraine should pursue free trade accord with the EU, not the Russia-led bloc.

The developments are a setback for both Russian leaders, Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has been persistently seeking to get Kiev in Moscow political orbit.

Putin, during his visit to Kiev on April 12, offered Ukraine up to $9 billion in annual economic benefits for joining the Customs Union, but Ukrainian officials had declined.

The developments also indicate that Ukraine and Russia may drift towards a trade war next year as the Russian leaders had indicated that prohibitive trade duties on many Ukrainian goods and commodities may be applied.

John Clancy, EU Trade Spokesman, warned last month that Ukraine would not be able to hold talks with the European Union on the establishment of a free-trade area if it becomes a member of the Customs Union formed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

"It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for Ukraine to negotiate a free-trade area with the EU if it were to join a customs union with countries that have not liberalized their trade with the EU and which apply a common customs tariffs towards other trade partners,” Clancy said. (tl/ez)