Putin visits Ukraine to urge unity, discourage EU agreement

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Ukraine on July 27-28 for a working visit, as well as to participate in ceremonies commemorating the 1,025-year anniversary of the christening of Kyiv-Rus. Putin met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for 15 minutes, the Kommersant-Ukrayina newspaper reported. Yanukovych declared his desire to “very briefly discuss the current agenda in the economic sphere, while Putin assured him that his nation is “fully determined to work together,”Kommersant reported.

Besides participating in a religious ceremony in Kyiv and a military ceremony in Sevastopol, Putin also spoke at a non-government conference entitled, “Orthodox-Slavic Values – the Foundation for Ukraine’s Civilizational Choice” organized by his Ukrainian advocate, Viktor Medvedchuk. Putin also addressed economic issues, citing statistics on Russian-Ukrainian trade having dropped 17% in 1Q13 while Russian trade within the Customs Union continues to grow. “There’s a very intense competitive struggle on the global markets today,” Putin said. “I am sure that the vast majority of those present here understand that only by uniting our efforts will we be competitive and win this quite fierce competitive struggle.”

Zenon Zawada: Judging by the limited news reports available, the visit didn’t seem to go as Putin had hoped. His time was largely limited to public ceremonies, rather than sitting down and hammering out some economic plans. Although some political scientists were predicting their talks would be limited, Yanukovych could have created the opportunity if he wanted to. Therefore, we think it’s a sign that negotiations on key economic issues – particularly natural gas prices and transit – between the two governments have reached a stalemate.

The best indicator that Putin was dissatisfied with the visit was the morning announcement on July 29 that the Russian government was forbidding the import of chocolates produced by the leading Ukrainian confectionary firm, Roshen. That’s a clear warning from the Russian government of what to expect in the future should the Ukrainian government opt to sign the Association Agreement, which would close the door to Ukraine’s membership in the Eurasian Union to be launched in 2015.