Voice of Russia
December 5, 2013
Russian lawmaker slams NATO statement over Ukraine crackdown
A prominent Russian lawmaker and the chief of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament has pointed out inconsistency between NATO’s reaction to the recent crackdown on Ukrainian protesters in Kiev and similar police violence in the US.
“NATO has condemned the use of ‘excessive force’ against Kiev demonstrators. But it was probably OK to beat anti-NATO protesters in Chicago,” Duma MP Alexei Pushkov tweeted overnight.
The tweet comes after Russia’s foreign policy chief Sergei Lavrov said he was amazed by the fact that the military alliance believed itself to be in a position to issue statements on Ukraine’s domestic affairs.
EU will not support Yanukovych in 2015 presidential elections – Duma deputy
The European Union will not support Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in the 2015 presidential elections in Ukraine, says State Duma international affairs committee head Alexei Pushkov.
“The signal is clear: in the run-up to the 2015 elections in Ukraine, the EU stakes on the opposition and is preparing a substitution for Yanukovych. Wait for new Maidans [a symbol of protest activities in Ukraine],” Pushkov said on Twitter on Friday.
Contrary to expectations, Ukraine did not sign an association agreement with the EU at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius on Friday.
Speaking earlier to Interfax, President Yanukovych said, “The Eastern Partnership summit was undeniably very important for us in terms of understanding and in terms of visualizing the future for Ukraine.”
“We received an answer today that the doors to the European Union are open and that we have the time that we should use to find an answer as to conditions on which Ukraine may make the next step,” Yanukovych said.
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EU cannot reconcile itself with Ukrainian big fish escaping European net – Russian MP
Head of the Duma International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov has accused the European Union of politicizing the Ukrainian issue.
“The subject of Ukraine was politicized not by Russia but the European Union where the Eastern Partnership from the start was regarded as a means of expanding its geopolitical influence,” he twitted on Wednesday.
He said that Russia unlike the EU is prepared for trilateral talks with Kiev and Brussels.
“Not Russia but the EU is opposed to trilateral talks. The EU cannot reconcile itself with the fact that the Ukrainian ‘big fish’ is swimming away from ‘the European net’,” he added.
On November 21 the Ukrainian government decided to suspend work on the Associating Agreement with the European Union and declared its determination to significantly improve trade and economic relations with Russia and CIS countries.
After that the EU said that the decision had been made under Russia’s pressure.
Pushkov fears “EuroMaidan” rallies’ harmful effects on Ukrainian economy
A surge in the activity of the Ukrainian opposition protesting against the government’s decision not to sign the association agreement with the European Union in November may trigger a new slump of the Ukrainian economy, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov supposed.
“In 2004 the Kyiv Maidan rallies brought Yushchenko and the Orange forces to office, which caused an economic collapse. The new Maidan rally demands an alliance with the EU. That will cause a new slump,” Pushkov wrote on Twitter on Monday.
The Ukrainian government decided on November 21 to suspend preparations for signing the association agreement with the EU and declared its intention to significantly improve trade and economic relations with Russia and CIS countries.
The decision led to numerous rallies of supporters of Ukraine’s European integration in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine on Sunday and Monday.
Voice of Russia, Interfax
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