Quotes yesterday from Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich:
“When we are saying that we are building a democratic state, a democratic society, it is important for all the members of this society to observe the laws. It doesn’t matter whether they are government representatives, law enforcement officers or participants of these rallies. Everyone must observe the laws of our state.”
(photo: Trasyy LiveJournal)
He might pass the word to his police forces if those words are to have any meaning. To his credit he then left open the door for some form of reconciliation which also shows his concern over the impact of the protests:
“I am convinced that the worst peace is better than the best war.”
(photo: Trasyy LiveJournal)
From Tuesday thru Friday President Yanukovich will be out of the country on a state visit to China. The China agenda is in regards to Ukraine’s involvement with joint projects as an extension of several Asian investment projects spearheaded by Russia and China.
After leaving China he will travel to Moscow–a new schedule development.
Meanwhile from the Kyiv Post:
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov admitted on Dec. 2 that his government was helpless to handle mass protests in the streets of Kyiv that have lasted for more than a week, and said they looked like a coup.
At the same time, President Vitkor Yanukovych reached out to Europe for a new deal after failing to sign an agreement last week. The government’s failure caused outrage and mass protests across the country. “The mass character of protests has grown to be unmanageable, or rather manageable by certain political forces,” Azarov said at a meeting with U.S. and EU ambassadors.
Read the entire article here: http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/government-admits-helplessness-asks-for-a-new-deal-with-europe-332858.html
Mendeleyev footnote: For some time we’ve suspected that for former president Kuchuma’s hatchet man and current Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, may possibly be more in control of the country than President Yanukovich. It was Azarov who went to Russia for the latest CIS Summit in Saint Petersburg and it was Azarov who first announced, while Yanukovich was headed to Austria, that Ukraine would not sign the deal with the EU.
