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Ukrainian President Sets Sights on Closer Ties With E.U. Ukrainian President Sets Sights on Closer E.U. Ties
(about 5 hours later)
MOSCOW — Proclaiming that “the main, most dangerous part of the war is already in the past,” President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Thursday that his country should aggressively pursue closer ties with the European Union and that he would lead efforts to fight corruption and improve the economy. MOSCOW — Proclaiming that “the main, most dangerous part of the war is already in the past,” President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Thursday that his office was in constant communication with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to sustain a truce in eastern Ukraine, and that Ukraine was now looking ahead to pursue membership in the European Union.
Speaking at a news conference in Kiev, the capital, Mr. Poroshenko suggested that Ukraine would ultimately seek membership of the European Union. Earlier in the day, he and other officials, including the prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, said that the government would work to repeal a 2010 law barring Ukraine from membership in any military and political alliance, a step viewed as a prelude to an application to join NATO. Speaking at a news conference in Kiev, the capital, Mr. Poroshenko said that he planned to meet with Mr. Putin within the next three weeks and expressed confidence that the cease-fire with pro-Russian rebels would hold.
“Yes, we cast away the tyranny, confirmed our European choice and survived the fight with the external enemy,” Mr. Poroshenko said at the news conference. “But the internal challenge is just as important. Corruption, poverty and economic weakness are our biggest threats and the main weapon of the attackers.” At the same time, Mr. Poroshenko voiced several positions certain to irk the Kremlin, which has worked aggressively to prevent Ukraine from shifting politically and economically toward Europe. He said that Ukraine would never relinquish the embattled eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, that plans to grant those regions greater autonomy would have firm limits, and that Ukraine must move as quickly as possible toward European integration.
Regarding the pursuit of closer ties with Europe, Mr. Poroshenko said, “We have a full right to knock on this door,” adding that it would require drastic economic and political reforms. “The doors of the E.U. are open to us; I am absolutely convinced of this,” Mr. Poroshenko said. “Events in Kiev and Brussels gave us a firm hope, a belief, that we will soon get the prospect of E.U. membership. We have every right to knock on this door.”
“We must not walk but run this path of huge changes,” Mr. Poroshenko said. “We must run, fly on this path.” Earlier in the day, Mr. Poroshenko’s office said the government planned to push legislation that would repeal a 2010 law barring Ukraine from membership in any military or political alliance, a step viewed as a prelude to an application to join NATO.
His comments were certain to cause discomfort in Russia. The Kremlin has been a strong backer of the cease-fire agreement signed on Sept. 5 in Minsk, Belarus, — which has sharply reduced the violence in eastern Ukraine — but it has strongly resisted Ukraine’s move to align itself with Europe. There was no immediate reaction to Mr. Poroshenko’s remarks from the Kremlin, though a Russian Foreign Ministry official criticized the Ukrainian government’s stated plan to close some border crossings with Russia. The Kremlin has also warned repeatedly of severe consequences should Ukraine not take Russia’s interests into account as it seeks to put into effect a new trade accord with the European Union that Ukraine ratified on Sept. 16.
On Sept. 16, Ukraine ratified an association agreement with Europe that was supposed to lower trade barriers and encourage economic and political reforms in the country. But fierce opposition from Russia prompted Ukraine and the European Union to postpone implementation of much of the agreement until the beginning of 2016. Russia had threatened stiff trade barriers against goods not already under embargo that are produced in Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on trade with its giant neighbor. The Russian government also hinted at a military response. Fierce opposition from Russia prompted Ukraine and the European Union to postpone implementation of much of the accord until 2016. And while the truce agreement, signed in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 5, has mostly held, a potentially serious dispute appeared to be emerging over when local elections would be held in southeastern Ukraine.
Despite sporadic fighting, the truce signed in Belarus has mostly held. Russia, however, has made clear that it wants the pro-Russian regions of eastern Ukraine to be given enough authority to block any step by Ukraine to join NATO. A law passed by the Ukrainian Parliament granting “special status” to the eastern regions called for elections to be held on Dec. 7, but leaders of the separatist movement in southeastern Ukraine have declared that voting will take place on Nov. 2.
The truce agreement also included provisions intended to grant greater political autonomy in the east, including local and regional elections, as well as legal guarantees regarding the use of the Russian language. Mr. Poroshenko’s news conference was called in large part to discuss an ambitious plan of reforms to be carried out through 2020. These include aggressive efforts to combat corruption and overhaul the economy, challenges that have hobbled Ukraine since its independence from the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago.
Already, however, a potentially serious dispute appeared to be emerging over when the local elections would be held. A law passed by the Ukrainian Parliament granting “special status” to the eastern regions called for elections to be held on Dec. 7, but leaders of the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine have declared that voting will be held on No. “Yes, we cast away the tyranny, confirmed our European choice and survived the fight with the external enemy,” Mr. Poroshenko said. “But the internal challenge is just as important. Corruption, poverty and economic weakness is our biggest threat and the main weapon of the attackers.” He said there was no time to walk or crawl. “We must run, fly,” he said.
National parliamentary elections in Ukraine are scheduled for Oct. 26, and it is still unclear whether the government will be able to successfully organize voting in the east. More than 3,000 people have died there since fighting began in April, and tens of thousands have fled the region. Nearly all of the big changes will require the support of Parliament, and Mr. Poroshenko expressed confidence that a new, reform-minded group of lawmakers would come to power in national elections to be held on Oct. 26.
More than a decade ago, Ukraine set a policy of seeking closer ties with Europe and membership in the European Union, but the country took a sharp turn toward Russia under President Viktor F. Yanukovych, who was elected in 2010. At his urging, the Parliament adopted a law to enshrine Ukraine’s “nonaligned” status. It is still unclear, however, if the government will be able to successfully carry out voting in the war-torn east. More than 3,000 people have died there since fighting began in April, and tens of thousands of people have fled the region for safety.
Mr. Yanukovych was ousted in February after months of street protests, which began in November after he broke a promise to sign agreements strengthening political and trade ties with Europe. Since then, Ukrainian officials have put the country back on a pro-European track. At the news conference on Thursday, Mr. Poroshenko sought to clarify the extent of the autonomy that the government would grant to the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which he said would be limited to a “special regime of local authorities.”
At the news conference on Thursday, Mr. Poroshenko sought to clarify the extent of the autonomy that would be granted to the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which he said was limited to a “special regime of local authorities.”
“None of the central functions are delegated,” Mr. Poroshenko said. “Separation of this region from Ukraine is out of the question. We only have a process of decentralization. It is beginning throughout the country.”“None of the central functions are delegated,” Mr. Poroshenko said. “Separation of this region from Ukraine is out of the question. We only have a process of decentralization. It is beginning throughout the country.”
The government in Kiev has repeatedly stressed the idea of “decentralization” as opposed to the concept of “federalization” favored in Moscow and among pro-Russian separatists. The Kiev government has repeatedly emphasized the idea of “decentralization” as opposed to the concept of “federalization” favored in Moscow and among pro-Russian separatists.
Mr. Poroshenko said that the Kremlin had underestimated Ukraine’s strength. Mr. Poroshenko said the Kremlin had underestimated Ukraine’s strength.
“Some people in the Russian administration thought that Ukraine was a colossus on clay legs, and that once you push it a little, Donbass will fall apart,’' he said, referring to the southeast region of the country. “It didn’t work out.” “Some people in the Russian administration thought that Ukraine was a colossus on clay legs, and that once you push it a little, Donbass will fall apart,” he said, referring to the southeastern region of the country. “It didn’t work out.”
Asked by a reporter if he was ever threatened by Mr. Putin, Mr. Poroshenko replied: “I’ll answer simply. I am not afraid of anything, and I never was. I represent a great country of strong people, and it gives me additional confidence. I can’t imagine anyone threatening me.”