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UKRAINIAN EXPERT: DECISION NOT TO SIGN THE ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT WITH THE EU WAS MADE BY PRESIDENT YANUKOVICH AS LONG AS A FEW MONTHS AGO
by David Stepanyan
ARMINFO
Friday, November 22, 17:08
The decision not to sign the association agreement with the European
Union was made by President Yanukovich as long as a few months ago,
President of the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies (Kyiv)
Alexey Kolomets said in an interview to ArmInfo.
On Thursday Ukrainian Prime Minster Mykola Azarov decreed to stop the
preparations for the signing of the association agreement with the EU
"for purposes of national security." He explained that Ukraine needed
to develop economic ties with Russia and the CIS. A few hours before
the decree Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Yanukovich's
proposal for trilateral talks with Ukraine and the EU.
"All that followed was an open haggle. In 2011 Yanukovich claimed
$7bln for setting free Yulia Tmishenko. Today, his men are claiming as
much as $20bln. De jure, this decree is legal. All the other points
are just demagogy and incompetence. Why didn't they make it public
for so long? There is no doubt that it was approved when Yanukovich
was in Vienna. This is a real shame for the EU. Yanukoich is simply
mocking them. But they deserve this as they should have known that
with him you cannot speak normally as all he knows is the language
of ultimatums and forces," Kolomets said.
He thinks that the EU has once again proved its inefficiency. "Very
many in Brussels must resign after this. The only question now is
how to save the Eastern Partnership though I believe that the Vilnius
summit must be cancelled," Kolomets said.
As far as the expert knows, Yanukovich and Putin met at some military
base. "It was a hard talk for Yanukovich. He was forced to give in,
perhaps, in order to save his country. Still I don't think that there
will be a new Maidan. What for? There will be an attempt to involve
Ukraine into the Customs Union. But this will hardly work out,"
Kolomets said.
by David Stepanyan
ARMINFO
Friday, November 22, 17:08
The decision not to sign the association agreement with the European
Union was made by President Yanukovich as long as a few months ago,
President of the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies (Kyiv)
Alexey Kolomets said in an interview to ArmInfo.
On Thursday Ukrainian Prime Minster Mykola Azarov decreed to stop the
preparations for the signing of the association agreement with the EU
"for purposes of national security." He explained that Ukraine needed
to develop economic ties with Russia and the CIS. A few hours before
the decree Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Yanukovich's
proposal for trilateral talks with Ukraine and the EU.
"All that followed was an open haggle. In 2011 Yanukovich claimed
$7bln for setting free Yulia Tmishenko. Today, his men are claiming as
much as $20bln. De jure, this decree is legal. All the other points
are just demagogy and incompetence. Why didn't they make it public
for so long? There is no doubt that it was approved when Yanukovich
was in Vienna. This is a real shame for the EU. Yanukoich is simply
mocking them. But they deserve this as they should have known that
with him you cannot speak normally as all he knows is the language
of ultimatums and forces," Kolomets said.
He thinks that the EU has once again proved its inefficiency. "Very
many in Brussels must resign after this. The only question now is
how to save the Eastern Partnership though I believe that the Vilnius
summit must be cancelled," Kolomets said.
As far as the expert knows, Yanukovich and Putin met at some military
base. "It was a hard talk for Yanukovich. He was forced to give in,
perhaps, in order to save his country. Still I don't think that there
will be a new Maidan. What for? There will be an attempt to involve
Ukraine into the Customs Union. But this will hardly work out,"
Kolomets said.