It is time to pack suitcases

For some unknown reason Mr. Kuchma has come to think that Ukrainian politicians are envious about his being supported by Yeltsin. Since I am not a politician, I can deeply sympathize with our President. Just imagine hunting with such a friend [like Yeltsin] in the Moscow suburbs: you may fail to notice when you are no longer the subject, but the object of the winter game. However, the President is well aware of this: I didn't see — any particular joy in his eyes during the interview. This is not because I can read people's faces, but because I remember well the long list of President Yeltsin's friends. Mr. Burbulis is quite indispensable. Without Mr. Gaidar is like without reforms — and it is him I propose you to give your support to. Mr. Korzhakov is the most valuable person to me. I consider Mr. Lebed a possible heir and with him I'm going to the run-off election.

And now he takes to support Mr. Kuchma. Many thanks to you Boris Nikolaevich from Leonid Danylovych. What wrong did he do to you? As a matter of fact, he is anxious for a constructive dialogue, rather than Belarus superciliousness you are fed up with. Different from Mr. Lukashenko he supported you during your elections. And you oh no!... hugging him. By the way, you don't promise any support to Lukashenko: what you do promise is to cultivate him. And to our President — well, you announce that there is no alternative with regard to the dialogue between Ukraine and Russia. You too, have no alternative with regard to the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time you said you would not run in 2000 election. Which means that Mr. Kuchma is to stay and you to go. Can you imagine such a political reality? How about the dialogue then?

Well, getting more serious, the Yeltsin's statement means only one thing: Russian political and economic clans are allowed today to choose favorites for them in Ukrainian game of politics. In Yeltsin-speak, the words about support mean that obviously there will be no support — at least it doesn't look today like well-deserved, and the candidate for support still has an opportunity to deserve it. His opponents also have this opportunity. There is nothing irrational in what has happened: President Kuchma indeed expressed his support before President Yeltsin's election and President Yeltsin decided to support President Kuchma, for some reason, before Parliamentary election which seems rather like a symptom. But let us not think that Russian politicians are idiots. They know only too well what they do. At recent elections in Moldova there was also a candidate obviously supported by Moscow, namely Premier Andriy Sangely. He held, by the way, the honored third place in the first round. Do you really think that they were surprised in Moscow?

Moscow