In Russia, on his first working visit as president, Yushchenko strives to counter pre-election myths (01/30/05)

In Russia, on his first working visit as president,
Yushchenko strives to counter pre-election myths

by Maryna Makhnonos
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

MOSCOW - Ukraine's newly inaugurated president, Viktor Yushchenko, made a one-day working visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, January 24. The two presidents discussed a range of topics in bilateral relations, as well as Mr. Yushchenko's poisoning, a criminal investigation by Russian prosecutors of business operations by Yushchenko ally and now Prime-Minister-designate Yulia Tymoshenko and Russia's Black Sea Fleet operations in Crimea.

Mr. Yushchenko was accompanied by State Secretary Oleksander Zinchenko, National Deputies Yevhen Chervonenko and Oleksander Tretiakov, and Ukraine's ambassador to Russia, Mykola Biloblotskyi.

The group met with Dmitrii Medvedev, chief of the Russian presidential administration; Mr. Putin's assistant Sergei Prikhodko; Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; Industry and Energy Minister Victor Khristenko; Russia's ambassador to Ukraine Victor Chernomyrdin; and Aleksei Miller, head of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom. Later in the day, Mr. Yushchenko met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksei II at the Danilov Monastery to underscore his unbiased policy toward all confessions in Ukraine.

During his news conference at the President Hotel in Moscow at the conclusion of his visit, Mr. Yushchenko said: "I think we managed to turn over the pre-election page completely, to close it. Now it's not important what happened 30 days ago, it's important what will happen in the next five years."

Mr. Yushchenko said the purpose of his visit was "to improve bilateral relations and make them more sincere," as well as to fulfill his promise to Ukrainian voters. During the presidential campaign, Mr. Yushchenko said repeatedly that his first presidential visit abroad would be to Russia. At the Kremlin, Mr. Yushchenko confirmed his previous statements that Russia is Ukraine's crucial partner: "We stated always and will state that Russia is our eternal strategic partner."

Mr. Putin stated that Russia "never works behind the scenes in the post-Soviet space, only with the acting government and this completely relates to Ukraine. We have done what we were asked [to do] by the leadership." He added, "We hope that we will build the same relations based on trust with you, too."

The Ukrainian president said he discussed a range of issues in bilateral relations, including Russian gas transit, capital transfers, migration, the status of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, language issues, cooperation within the framework of the Single Economic Space (SES) and Ukraine's bids to enter European market. Mr. Yushchenko did not disclose any details of the talks, but indicated that he was "satisfied with the dialogue."

The appointment of Ms. Tymoshenko as Ukraine's prime minister seemed to be an unexpected event of the day as Mr. Yushchenko's press secretary first announced it before the media during the presidential talks at the Kremlin. Mr. Putin avoided comment on the issue, but Mr. Yushchenko said he discussed the possibility of an unobstructed visit by Ms. Tymoshenko to Russia and was "satisfied with the answer." Commenting on her appointment, President Yushchenko said he hopes she will successfully continue his economic reforms of 1999-2000.

Russia's Prosecutor's Office is investigating whether Ms. Tymoshenko bribed Russian military officers to favor some business operations. When she did not appear for questioning in Moscow in September 2004, Russian law-enforcement authorities announced an international warrant via Interpol and a Russian court sanctioned her arrest. Russia's chief prosecutor, Vladimir Ustinov, said on January 26 that his office will "continue the case according to Russian laws." Mr. Ustinov would not say whether Ms. Tymoshenko would be arrested if she crosses the Russian border, but noted that "the arrest was sanctioned by court decision."

There were two new curves in the two countries' relations, including the declaration of a new vector in Ukraine's foreign economic policy. According to Mr. Yushchenko, Ukraine welcomes the SES to the extent that the SES respect its economic interests and its cooperation with the European Union.

Mr. Yushchenko also said that Ukraine will divert the transport of oil via the Odesa-Brody pipeline, that is, from Odesa to Brody and on to Europe if corresponding agreements with oil suppliers in Kazakstan and Azerbaijan are reached. Currently the pipeline works in reverse mode, transporting Russian oil to consumers from Brody to Odesa's oil terminal and via the Black Sea in tankers. "The current agreement [with Russian companies on oil transit via this pipeline] is temporary. It corresponds to Ukrainian interests, but if they change, we will use the pipeline in the opposite direction," Mr. Yushchenko explained.

Mr. Yushchenko's visit to Russia was also aimed at countering the general impression that he is a radical nationalist - a theme that predominated on Russian TV channels and in public opinion in Russia and Ukraine's east.

Mr. Yushchenko told the news media that Ukraine's alleged ideological split between west and east is a myth. He said Ukrainians have been changed since the opposition protests, and the fact that his three little children sing "Together we are many and we cannot be defeated," gives hope for a good future.

At the end of his news conference, journalists surrounded Mr. Yushchenko to ask additional questions, standing merely a step away from the Ukrainian leader - a very unfamiliar situation in Russia as VIPs are usually tightly guarded by security.

One journalist asked: "Did you discuss the poisoning issue with Putin?" Mr. Yushchenko replied in the affirmative, but did not say anything more. Later, when a Los Angeles Times correspondent asked for details on this topic, Mr. Yushchenko responded that he "informed Mr. Putin about the story, we exchanged thoughts about possible variants of the poisoning, and I showed him the doctor's conclusions."

Mr. Yushchenko spoke frankly about his health, explaining that doctors have confirmed that he was poisoned by a dioxin-based substance. "If I survived 6,000 doses [of poison], I will live," he said. He also displayed his doctor's certificate and read it: "This disease is not infectious. President Yushchenko is able to fulfill his duties under appropriate medical observation."

Not many Russian TV cameras were seen at Mr. Yushchenko's news conference, limiting their coverage to the presidential talks at the Kremlin; most of the attendees were foreign journalists from all over the world.

The Russian media's interest in Ukrainian affairs has decreased since Mr. Yushchenko's official victory. However, Russian newspapers did discuss Ms. Tymoshenko's appointment, noting that Mr. Yushchenko may lose favor if his revolutionary ideas are blocked and the people of Ukraine become disappointed, but that he may gain public support if Ms. Tymoshenko succeeds in prodding economic growth.

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