Ukraine risks seeing a historic free trade deal with the EU slip away for "a very long time" if it fails to make the moves needed for agreement at a summit next week, EU president Lithuania said Tuesday.
The blunt warning came as Ukraine's parliament delayed for another two days a debate on a bill that would let jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko seek medical treatment abroad -- a key condition to securing the Association Agreement, a first step to EU membership.
The pact represents a landmark break by Ukraine from Russia, its master both in the Tsarist and Soviet eras. Moscow is infuriated by the prospect of Kiev's close integration with the EU.
With time running out and the November 28-29 summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius looming, anxiety over Ukraine's prospects of sealing the pact is climbing.
Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite told AFP in an interview that Kiev must act now to secure the deal.
"There are no guarantees that it could be signed after a year or two... The pause in relations may take a very long period of time," she said.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition "share the responsibility" to find a compromise on a deal allowing Tymoshenko go abroad for treatment, or else the EU agreement will be scuppered, Grybauskaite said.
"If the law that solves the Tymoshenko issue is not adopted, EU member states will definitely not sign an agreement with Ukraine," she said.
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Ukraine has postponed debating the laws to make it happen by two days.
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