Ukraine's politicians welcome results of Russian elections (01/02/00)

Ukraine's politicians welcome results of Russian elections

by Pavel Polityuk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Most Ukrainian politicians welcomed the emergence of new democratic groups in Russia's parliamentary elections, held on December 19 and expressed hopes for better relations with their giant influential neighbor.

Struggling to build a good rapport with both its "strategic partners," the West and Russia, the Ukrainian government hailed the "success of Russian political forces oriented toward further democratic and market changes" and said this would improve ties between the two countries.

Oleksander Martynenko, spokesman for President Leonid Kuchma, said the parliamentary elections in Russia had showed that Russians - as well as Ukrainians, as evidenced by October's presidential results - support democracy and market reforms in their society.

The December 19 elections to the State Duma, or lower house of Russia's Parliament, left the Communist Party with a major voice, but the emergence of new, broadly pro-market groups like the Kremlin-backed Unity bloc and the Union of Right Wing Forces may help accelerate democratic and economic reforms.

According to preliminary results issued by the Russian Central Election Commission, Communists won nearly 25 percent, slightly more than the Yedinstvo (Unity) bloc, headed by Russia's current Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu. Unity received about 24 percent electoral support.

Kremlin rivals from the opposition Fatherland-All Russia bloc led by ex-Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov got about 13 percent support, while three other parties passed the barrier of 5 percent, although they received less than 10 percent each.

Most Ukrainian politicians and analysts say Kyiv has a chance to establish good relations with Russia's new Duma. Russia is the main trading partner of Ukraine, whose energy-hungry industries receive billions of cubic meters of natural gas and millions of tons of oil and petrol from its northern neighbor.

"President Leonid Kuchma considers that now there is a very god chance for breathing new life into Russian-Ukrainian relations," Mr. Martynenko said.

Representatives of Ukrainian democratic parties said the results of Russian elections signal the end of a Communist majority in parliaments of the former Soviet republics and noted that they expect changes in the legislatures of other republics.

"A new power alignment in opposition to the left-wing parties has appeared in Russia, and we can say that similar democratic political powers will also emerge in Ukraine," said Viktor Medvedchuk, vice-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.

"I'm sure these new forces will be able to defeat the Communists," he said. But Ukrainian leftists have repeatedly said that their Communist ideology will dominate society in the coming years, and Russia's Communist Party is still the biggest in the State Duma.

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko called the results of the elections a "Communist victory," adding that he believes the victory will leave a positive impact on relations between Russia and Ukraine.

Mr. Tkachenko also noted that the Russian State Duma would express its attitude to Ukraine after its leading bodies are formed and heads of the parliamentary committees are named.

But analysts say the Duma has no real influence on Russia's foreign policy, which is the domain of President Yeltsin. However, they forecast more pragmatism by the lawmakers in their general attitude to members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Ukraine.

"I expect the appearance of some new points in the (Duma's) relations with Ukraine and the other CIS countries," analyst Serhii Karashkov said. "It may be a more pragmatic policy."

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