Tymoshenko would bring Ukraine under Russian influence, Yushchenko says

The election of
Yulia Tymoshenko as president would give Moscow direct influence on Ukrainian
politics, former President Viktor Yushchenko said in an interview published on
Aug. 13 on the pravda.com.ua news site. “Today the biggest tragedy for Ukraine
in the political dimension can be getting foreign Moscow leadership over
Ukrainian processes in the next five to ten years,” Yushchenko said in response
to a question on what he thinks of Tymoshenko’s New Course political program.
“I know that there are three or four forces that are ready to fulfill this
policy,” he said, referring to Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party and the Opposition
Bloc. “It concerns me greatly that there isn’t a favorite in the elections
today. The chance that we will get a government that will be arranged under
Moscow’s doctrines is as great as ever.”

In the interview,
Yushchenko also revealed that Tymoshenko wanted to appoint Viktor Medvedchuk, a
close confidante to Russian President Putin, as vice prime minister in 2007.
When he declined, she suggested Medvedchuk as foreign minister.  

Yushchenko also
acknowledged that he frequently communicates with Ukrainian President
Poroshenko, meeting with him and two other former presidents in recent weeks to
discuss the strategy of creating a single canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Though Yushchenko criticized populist politics, which he has consistently
accused Tymoshenko of doing, the former president endorsed the politics of Oleh
Liashko and denied they were populist as well.

Zenon Zawada: This interview reveals a powerful
alliance that will oppose Tymoshenko in these elections that will involve
President Poroshenko and Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s biggest oligarch. It’s
widely recognized that Liashko enjoys close ties to Akhmetov, just as
Yushchenko did, and Yushchenko’s endorsement of Liashko’s politics (despite his
blatantly populist positions) merely adds further evidence of the
anti-Tymoshenko alliance. Though Liashko frequently and viciously criticizes
the president, his presence on the political scene collects the anti-Poroshenko
vote for Akhmetov that Tymoshenko would normally get, particularly in the rural
areas.

It’s also apparent that the main theme in the attacks on Tymoshenko will
be her alleged past connections with Putin, raising fear among the public that
she will capitulate Ukrainian interests to Russia. We believe that’s the best
chance for Poroshenko to improve his dismal ratings and get re-elected. But he
would also have to overcome the popularity of former Defense Minister Anatoliy
Grytsenko, who is also competing for the pro-Western electorate. We believe
Poroshenko could try to forge an alliance with Grytsenko in order to defeat
Tymoshenko.