On 20 December 2013 Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) Volodymyr Rybak did not rule out the possibility of signing an Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU without the creation of a free trade area (FTA). On 24 December 2013 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara stated that "at the present time" his Ministry's "and other government agencies' efforts are focused on further negotiations with the EU to provide conditions for implementing the association agreement". He added that "Ukraine will resume the negotiations on this agreement after the holidays" and that the text of the Association Agreement itself would not be changed, but that Ukraine intended to focus on the issues related to its implementation.