国际英语新闻:Russia, CIS willing for closer ties with EU on certain conditions: Putin

MINSK, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries are willing to begin the process of rapprochement with the European Union (EU) on certain conditions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"We have never been against rapprochement with the EU. We ourselves want to improve ties," Putin told a CIS summit here, stressing that conditions of cooperation should be set ahead.

Meanwhile, Putin said Moscow is ready to search for compromises and settle differences caused by Moldova's and Ukraine's EU association.

"The problems occur because our partners don't discuss in an open, timely, objective and professional way all the risks brought to Russia and other CIS countries by our colleagues' joining other trade-economic alliances," Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying.

"We need to settle the existing differences and find compromise solutions, and all members of the free trade zone treaty of the CIS are interested in this," he added.

Putin stressed that Moscow has to keep an eye on the consequences of those trade agreements for the benefit of the Russian market and CIS free trade area.

It is a complicated task to harmonize these countries' EU deals with the CIS free trade zone treaty of 2011, Putin said, adding that Moscow has been ready to sort out solutions by the end of December 2015.

The EU signed association agreements with Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia on June 27, but later delayed until Jan. 1, 2016, the provisional application of the agreement's title on trade and related matters with Ukraine.