Ukraine will not back down from trade deal with the EU - Poroshenko

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko delivers a speech during the opening session of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Ukraine will not back away from implementing a free trade agreement with the European Union on 1 January, 2016, despite Russian protests and threats of sanctions, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday.

"Neither Ukraine nor the European Union will step back from the treaty and yield to blackmail," Poroshenko said at a news conference in Vilnius with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.