Ukraine expects closer ties with Bulgaria after EU deal

A planned partnership deal between Ukraine and the European Union (EU) would push forward Kiev's close ties with Bulgaria, Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara said Friday. "The agreement on the association and the free trade area with the EU will open up new opportunities for Ukraine and Bulgaria to develop their relations," Kozhara said during a meeting here with his Bulgarian counterpart, Kristian Vigenin. The elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers between Ukraine and EU countries would also boost trade relations between Kiev and Sofia, he added. For his part, Vigenin said Bulgaria attaches great importance to developing its traditional partnership with Ukraine and favors Kiev's EU integration bid. "We would like to express our support for Ukraine's European choice," he said, adding that Sofia is ready to expand people-and-people and high-level exchanges with Kiev. The two sides also agreed to intensify efforts to tap their potential of cooperation in various sectors, such as tourism, culture and science. Kiev hopes to ink the Association Agreement and a free trade pact with the EU during the Eastern Partnership Summit, scheduled for Nov. 28-29 in Lithuania's Vilnius.