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| Russia 'blackmailed Ukraine to ditch EU pact' | Russia 'blackmailed Ukraine to ditch EU pact' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| and agencies | |
| The Kremlin threatened Ukraine with trade losses worth billions and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs if it signed up to a strategic pact with the European Union, senior Lithuanian officials said. | The Kremlin threatened Ukraine with trade losses worth billions and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs if it signed up to a strategic pact with the European Union, senior Lithuanian officials said. |
| A week before a critical EU summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, that was to be capped by the Brussels-Kiev pact, President Viktor Yanukovich abruptly pulled out of the deal on Thursday, leaving EU policy in shreds and Vladimir Putin relishing victory in the contest for Ukraine's future. | A week before a critical EU summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, that was to be capped by the Brussels-Kiev pact, President Viktor Yanukovich abruptly pulled out of the deal on Thursday, leaving EU policy in shreds and Vladimir Putin relishing victory in the contest for Ukraine's future. |
| The volte face was a result of Russian blackmail, said the Lithuanian president's office as senior officials in Brussels griped that Yanukovich was sacrificing the hopes and wishes of most of his countrymen on the altar of Russian money and contracts. | The volte face was a result of Russian blackmail, said the Lithuanian president's office as senior officials in Brussels griped that Yanukovich was sacrificing the hopes and wishes of most of his countrymen on the altar of Russian money and contracts. |
| NEW COPY HERE Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told lawmakers Friday that the Ukraine cannot afford to lose trade with Russia and suggested the EU did not offer Ukraine any compensation for that. He also complained that the conditions the International Monetary Fund has set for rescuing its struggling economy with a bailout loan were impossible to fulfill. | |
| "What will be our compensation for the huge losses from losing the Customs Union market, what, I am asking you?" Azarov asked, referring to an economic alliance of former Soviet republics being pushed by Moscow. "Unfortunately, we did not receive a realistic answer to this question." | |
| Members of the opposition party, dressed in sweaters reading "Freedom to Ukraine" and "Ukraine is Europe", responded by booing Azarov, throwing stacks of paper at his ministers and moving toward his seat in order to physically block the speech. | |
| Opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk denounced the government's decision as state treason, accusing President Viktor Yanukovych of selling out to Moscow in exchange for cash and ensuring his re-election in 2015. | |
| "This is a well-planned scenario by Yanukovych: how to sell the Ukrainian state and to buy himself a seat of the governor of Little Russia as part of the great Russian empire," he said. | |
| Echoing the calls of the Orange Revolution protests of 2004-05 – of which she was a co-leader – Yulia Tymoshenko called on Ukrainians to take to the streets in protest against the government's decision. | Echoing the calls of the Orange Revolution protests of 2004-05 – of which she was a co-leader – Yulia Tymoshenko called on Ukrainians to take to the streets in protest against the government's decision. |
| The jailed opposition leader's lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, read a letter from the 52-year-old former prime minister in which she wrote: "I am calling on all people to react to this as they would to a coup d'etat – that is: get out on to the streets." END NEW | |
| The thunderbolt from Yanukovich has already brought pro-European protesters on to the streets of central Kiev ahead of what promises to be a weekend of campaigning climaxing in a large rally on Sunday. About 1,500 took to the streets waving EU flags on Thursday evening. Organisers expect tens of thousands to join the protests on Sunday. | The thunderbolt from Yanukovich has already brought pro-European protesters on to the streets of central Kiev ahead of what promises to be a weekend of campaigning climaxing in a large rally on Sunday. About 1,500 took to the streets waving EU flags on Thursday evening. Organisers expect tens of thousands to join the protests on Sunday. |
| Jovita Neliupšienė, a foreign policy aide to President Dalia Grybauskaitė of Lithuania, said Yanukovich called her ahead of announcing he was ditching the EU pact, arguing that the pressure from Moscow was irresistible. Yanukovich and Putin had a secret meeting last week. The Ukrainian and Russian prime ministers then met in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday. | Jovita Neliupšienė, a foreign policy aide to President Dalia Grybauskaitė of Lithuania, said Yanukovich called her ahead of announcing he was ditching the EU pact, arguing that the pressure from Moscow was irresistible. Yanukovich and Putin had a secret meeting last week. The Ukrainian and Russian prime ministers then met in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday. |
| "Ukraine could not withstand the economic pressure and blackmail. It was threatened with restricted imports of its goods to Russia, particularly from companies in eastern Ukraine, which accommodates the greater share of its industry and employs hundreds of thousands of people. Calculations suggest this would lead to billions in losses. These causes behind the decision were specified by President Yanukovich in the telephone conversation with the president earlier this week," Neliupšienė told a Baltic news agency. | "Ukraine could not withstand the economic pressure and blackmail. It was threatened with restricted imports of its goods to Russia, particularly from companies in eastern Ukraine, which accommodates the greater share of its industry and employs hundreds of thousands of people. Calculations suggest this would lead to billions in losses. These causes behind the decision were specified by President Yanukovich in the telephone conversation with the president earlier this week," Neliupšienė told a Baltic news agency. |
| Eastern Ukraine, traditionally pro-Russian, is also Yanukovich's power base. | Eastern Ukraine, traditionally pro-Russian, is also Yanukovich's power base. |
| With the Ukrainian economy in critical shape, the rebuff to Europe could cost it dearly in terms of EU financial support and the prospects of loans from the International Monetary Fund. | With the Ukrainian economy in critical shape, the rebuff to Europe could cost it dearly in terms of EU financial support and the prospects of loans from the International Monetary Fund. |
| The Vilnius summit was seen as a critical juncture, deciding whether the pivotal country of 46 million would opt for further integration with the EU or see its future in closer ties with Russia. Kiev has been pursuing the trade deal and political association agreement with the EU for the past five years, only to drop it at the last minute. Armenia did the same in September, yielding to Russian pressure and instead joining a Russia-centred Eurasian customs union. | The Vilnius summit was seen as a critical juncture, deciding whether the pivotal country of 46 million would opt for further integration with the EU or see its future in closer ties with Russia. Kiev has been pursuing the trade deal and political association agreement with the EU for the past five years, only to drop it at the last minute. Armenia did the same in September, yielding to Russian pressure and instead joining a Russia-centred Eurasian customs union. |
| "They are not going west. I don't think they are going east. I feel they are going down," said Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister who has campaigned strongly for Ukraine's European option. "That's roughly where we are because of the economic problems." | "They are not going west. I don't think they are going east. I feel they are going down," said Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister who has campaigned strongly for Ukraine's European option. "That's roughly where we are because of the economic problems." |
| Official reaction in Brussels was one of disappointment, pleading with Yanukovich to reconsider, and emphasising that no doors were being closed. Privately, however, senior officials were stunned and conceded that the EU's policy towards the post-Soviet states to the east had been set back years. The two EU envoys on the issue – Ireland's Pat Cox, a former European parliament president, and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former Polish president – voiced "deep disappointment at the unilateral decision of the Ukrainian government … we appeal to the president In this difficult situation. | Official reaction in Brussels was one of disappointment, pleading with Yanukovich to reconsider, and emphasising that no doors were being closed. Privately, however, senior officials were stunned and conceded that the EU's policy towards the post-Soviet states to the east had been set back years. The two EU envoys on the issue – Ireland's Pat Cox, a former European parliament president, and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former Polish president – voiced "deep disappointment at the unilateral decision of the Ukrainian government … we appeal to the president In this difficult situation. |
| "The people of Ukraine should be reassured by the leaders of the EU that the door will not be shut on the European hopes and aspirations of Ukraine." | "The people of Ukraine should be reassured by the leaders of the EU that the door will not be shut on the European hopes and aspirations of Ukraine." |
| The US state department accused Yanukovich of passing up a "historic opportunity". It hinted at economic and financial consequences for Ukraine, as did Catherine Ashton, the EU's top foreign policy official. | The US state department accused Yanukovich of passing up a "historic opportunity". It hinted at economic and financial consequences for Ukraine, as did Catherine Ashton, the EU's top foreign policy official. |
| "This is a disappointment not just for the EU, but, we believe, for the people of Ukraine," said Ashton. "The signing of the most ambitious agreement the EU has ever offered to a partner country would have sent a clear signal to investors worldwide as well as to international financial institutions that Ukraine is serious about its modernisation pledge and becoming a predictable and reliable interlocutor for international markets. It would have provided a unique opportunity to reverse the recent discouraging trend of decreasing foreign direct investment in Ukraine and would have given momentum to negotiations on a new standby arrangement with the IMF." | "This is a disappointment not just for the EU, but, we believe, for the people of Ukraine," said Ashton. "The signing of the most ambitious agreement the EU has ever offered to a partner country would have sent a clear signal to investors worldwide as well as to international financial institutions that Ukraine is serious about its modernisation pledge and becoming a predictable and reliable interlocutor for international markets. It would have provided a unique opportunity to reverse the recent discouraging trend of decreasing foreign direct investment in Ukraine and would have given momentum to negotiations on a new standby arrangement with the IMF." |
| Michael Leigh, a former senior EU official and co-architect of the policy, said: "People in Ukraine want their country to become more democratic and more prosperous. This opportunity … may not come again." | Michael Leigh, a former senior EU official and co-architect of the policy, said: "People in Ukraine want their country to become more democratic and more prosperous. This opportunity … may not come again." |
| Michal Baranowski, the Warsaw director of the German Marshall Fund thinktank, said: "Geopolitical competition in the region is back. The EU should be ready for a long game." | Michal Baranowski, the Warsaw director of the German Marshall Fund thinktank, said: "Geopolitical competition in the region is back. The EU should be ready for a long game." |
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