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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

To Eternally Fall Together

13 November, 2012 - 00:00
AP Photo: TOGETHER FOREVER?

From now on, after the latest “no neckties” meeting of Russia's and Ukraine's presidents it became clear where the main Ukraine's strategic partners are being determined: in the Rus residence near Moscow. It also became clear why the crisis is so rampant in Russia and Ukraine because, according to Leonid Kuchma, “necessary measures were not taken soon enough, and everybody died alone”. Then a marvelous recipe was offered: “we must get out of the crisis together.” Culprits for the crisis were also found: those allowed Russia on August 17 to devalue the ruble refusing to pay part its foreign debt. As the Ukrainian President said, “it was done so unprofessionally that it seems like it was done deliberately.” Both presidents looked uncertain and desperate on the TV screens as if the information about crises in both countries had taken them completely unawares.

For a long time Kuchma has personally repeated that Russia is our most strategic partner whenever the issue of our relationship with Moscow crops up. But these were and are just words. The already forgotten "together forever" up to now survived only in Aleksandr Lukashenka's vocabulary. A Moscow fund headed by Sergei Kurginian, who formerly opposed Yeltsin, interpreted those days that "together" in a simpler way than officials in Kyiv and Moscow did: it is better to fall together because then it is easier to catch hold of something.

It would be far from the truth to state that the meeting near Moscow was only rhetorical. Yeltsin, in particular, showed his interest in establishing a Russo-Ukrainian free trade zone. The only problem is that the relevant agreement was signed back in 1993 but he never came into force because our strategic partner weighted it down with 200 provisions. Finally, it will not be Yeltsin who will make the final decision. It seems like Ukraine and Gasprom have reached an agreement on barter payment for a part of Russian natural gas, but this is not the first time. When Lazarenko was Premier he also signed such an agreement, and the results are well-known. Russia promises to loan Ukraine funds to complete construction on Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear plants but that can happen only next year. The EBRD loan is likely to be received even earlier. As of today, "specialists are still working on the issue", The Day was told at the Ministry of Energy. It would be ideal if the construction have been financed from three sources: Ukraine, Russia, and Europe. Now it is being financed by higher electricity rates.

In the end, Russia is not calling Ukraine its strategic partner, and, according to Primakov, will do everything possible first of all to regain Western trust to it and rely above all on its own resources.

 

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