Victor Yanukovich,
after losing Ukraine's 2004 presidential vote
to the Orange
Revolution, appears to have had his revenge.
Gazeta, Russia
Ukraine Says Yes to Black Sea Fleet and No to NATO
"We
will discuss the issue [of the Black Sea Fleet] in the near future. It will not
be decided at the expense of Russia. … If the matter of NATO membership arises
again, we don't see it in the near future."
-- Victor Yanukovich, winner of
Ukraine's presidential election
Orange Revolution gone wrong?: Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has challenged the result of the 2010 presidential election runoff, charging they were rigged.
The Black Sea Fleet will remain
in Ukraine past 2017; Kiev will not expand its cooperation with NATO; and there
is a possibility of early parliamentary elections in the country. This was the
announcement by the winner of the presidential election, Viktor Yanukovich.
Victor
Yanukovich, who according to the preliminary results is the winner of Ukraine's presidential election, gave an interview to News
of the Week on channel Russia-1.
This is one of the first interviews that the leader of the Party of Regions has
given since vote-counting ended.
Yanukovich
didn't rule out the possibility that the Black Sea Fleet would remain in
Sevastopol beyond 2017.
He explained that it's vitally
important for Moscow and Kiev to study many issues as a "package,"
because of the need to return to friendly strategic relations between the two
countries. "We will discuss this issue in the near future. It will not be
decided at the expense of Russia, but will be addressed in the national
interest of Ukraine. We'll find a solution," he added.
The agreement to base the Black
Sea Fleet in Sevastopol was signed in May of 1997 and expires in 2017. In
recent years, the fate of the Russian fleet has become an issue for political
bargaining, although it was originally planned that the document would be
renewed nearly automatically.
Yanukovich stated that
Ukraine's joining NATO isn't something to expect in the near future. This is
yet another sore point between Moscow and Kiev. The Party of Regions leader announced
that the current format of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO is definitive
and will not be expanded.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
"Ukraine will build its
relations with NATO in keeping with this format. And we've clearly answered
this question - that of Ukraine joining NATO. If the matter arises again, we
don't see it in the near future. But, if it does come up, it will be decided in
a Ukraine-wide referendum," assured the winner at the polls.
Yanukovich gave a very
positive evaluation of the Russia-Europe security plan that Russian President Medvedev
spoke of back in June, 2008 [a new security architecture for the E.U. and
Russia]. Earlier this year, plans for the idea were put in writing, but so far,
no one has fully endorsed such a deal. "I think the Russian President's
Dmitry Medvedev's European security concept initiative is acceptable to Ukraine
- it is now being reviewed as one of the programs Ukraine is interested in and is
ready to participate in," Yanukovich said, backing Medvedev.
Ukraine's likely president also
intends to deal with the decrees of the still head of government, Viktor
Yushchenko. For example, Yushchenko has awarded the title Hero of Ukraine to Stepan Bandera [Bandera
was a Ukrainian nationalist who, among other things, resisted Soviet influence].
This decree has provoked a negative reaction in both Ukraine and Russia, in
addition to other countries. Yanukovich said this act "resonated sharply,"
as it strongly accentuates divisions in Ukraine.
"Of course, I will certainly
review this issue. And we'll make decisions so that in the future, there will be
no question raised here about the rewriting of history," he said in the
interview. According to Yanukovich, the question of repealing Yuschenko's
orders will be considered "very soon," but he didn't go into detail.
Yanukovich doesn't intend to
name who he will propose as prime minister before his inauguration. But the
winner of the presidential race said he had already decided.
In any case, the cabinet will
no longer be headed by the current prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. "A new
government has come to power. The old government, which wasn't recognized by
the Ukrainian people in this election, must go," he explained. Yanukovich doubts
that the new government will gain an easy foothold in the cabinet of ministers.
Negotiations regarding the prime ministership will begin next week.
"These negotiations will
show whether this parliament is capable of coming together around my program.
It's the program that the majority of voters have chosen for Ukraine," Yanukovich
explained. "If we get this, that means the Parliament [the Rada] will function; and
if not, there will be early elections. I'll be open with the voters," Yanukovich
said. The likely president would prefer that the Rada and the prime minister
designate work it out, since over the past five years, "the Ukrainian
people have gotten tired of politicians and the politicization of life. … Today
we need to return to everyday problems - to what interests the people," he
urged. Yanukovich also noted that he intends to lengthen terms of office in the
Rada, so that elections take place no more frequently than once every five years.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
At the moment, Yanukovich hasn’t
yet been elected president of Ukraine. Back on the February 7, the Central
Electoral Commission finished processing all of the ballots. According to the
results, Viktor Yanukovich, the leader of the Party of Regions, received 48.95 percent
of the vote; and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko 45.47 percent. The final
results should be submitted to the Central Election Commission no later than
February 17.
