FORMER Soviet republics Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia signed trade and economic pacts with the European Union today, sparking further friction with Russia.

The pacts will allow businesses in the three countries to trade freely in any of the 28 EU member states without tariffs or restrictions, as long as their goods and practices meet EU standards. 

Goods and services from the EU will likewise be sold more easily and cheaply in the three countries.

Brussels gave Ukraine a 15-year transition period during which it can use tariffs to bolster its domestic car industry against competition from within the EU. 

Agriculture-dominated Moldova will gradually eliminate protections for its dairy, pork, poultry and wine producers over 10 years, while the EU places limits on imports of chicken from both countries.

But after the pacts were signed in Brussels, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said: “There will undoubtedly be serious consequences for Ukraine and Moldova’s signing.”

Georgia’s decision to distance itself from Russia in favour of the EU and the US led directly to the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008.

Moscow has the capacity to inflict serious economic pain on Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia through trade restrictions, cuts in energy supplies or the deportation from Russia of migrant workers from those countries.

It was in response to fears about Moscow’s response that then Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych stepped back last November from signing a trade agreement with the EU.

His decision sparked initial peaceful protests, encouraged by visiting EU and US politicians, which gave way to riots coordinated by far-right groups and culminated in Mr Yanukovych fleeing to Russia.

New President Petro Poroshenko hailed the signing as Ukraine’s most historic day since independence in 1991, describing it as a “symbol of faith and unbreakable will” and the start of preparations for joining the EU.

European Council president Herman Van Rompuy described the three-state deal as a “great day for Europe.”

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “efforts to force Ukraine into an artificial choice between Russia and the EU had pushed Ukraine towards a split — a painful internal conflict.”