Putin: Russia ready to work with Ukraine

Russia is ready to work with Ukraine over the Customs Union issues, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his annual state-of-the-nation address to the parliament. "We don't enforce anything to anyone. But if our friends desire to work together, we are ready to continue that work on expert level," he said. Putin said Russian integration project has been based on equality and real economic interests. Moscow will consistently promote its Eurasian project without opposing it to the other integration projects, including the European Union, which Putin described as "matured." He reminded that Ukraine in May has expressed its interest to participate in the CU as an observer and seek to join some CU's agreements. Putin added that Russia would keep working with the EU on new base bilateral treaty. Mass protests burst out in Ukrainian capital Kiev and other major cities after the East Europe country decided to put on hold a political-economic agreement with the EU.