Ukhnaliou: How does EU want to reach agreement with Lukashenka, if it failed with Yanukovych?

The European Union cannot reach an agreement with the Belarusian regime without pressure.

Valery Ukhnaliou, a deputy head of the Fair World party, spoke to charter97.org about failure to sign an association agreement between Kyiv and Brussels.

“I have always thought that Ukraine will hardly agree to sign an association agreement with the EU at this stage. Different views are possibles, but it is the fact that Ukraine's economy will face serious problems without Russia with its energy and market. Joining the European community gives promising opportunities, but I think at this stage the Ukrainian authorities have made the right choice based on today's realities and an understanding that they can lose Ukraine by signing the agreement with the EU. It doesn't mean the European integration process is over. It will likely to continue. Some steps will be found, bit at this stage the Ukrainian authorities made their decision,” the politician thinks.

The deputy head of the Fair World party notes he doesn't imagine how the EU wants to reach an agreement with Lukashenka, if it failed to do it with Yanukovych.

“Frankly speaking, I don't imagine how the EU can reach an agreement with Lukashenka. I don't see venues for discussions and the problems, which solution can help to deal with Lukashenka using the old methods and principles. They may start to bargain, but I don't think European politicians don't understand it will fail. We already saw it. Lukashenka's promises about democratisation of the regime, the release and the rehabilitation of political prisoners are just words,” Valery Ukhnaliou stressed.

We remind that Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada fails to pass six bills on November 21 allowing prisoners to receive medical care abroad. Passing the bills was a condition for signing the association agreement with the EU. Opposition MPs chanted “Shame!” to their colleagues from the biggest parliamentary group of the Party of the Regions and the Communist Party as the voting ended. The only member of the Party of Regions who voted in favour of four out of six bills was Nestor Shufrych. One of the bills was supported by Irina Berezhnaya, also a member of the Party of Regions. The rest members of the ruling party didn't vote that didn't allow the bills to receive more than 195 votes in favour.

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers made a decision to suspend the process of preparing for signing the association agreement with the EU and ordered the government to set up a trilateral commission with participation of the European Union and Russia. President of Russia Vladimir Putin already said Moscow was ready for trilateral negotiations to solve the issues over possible signing of the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

The Eastern Partnership Summit is due to be held in Vilnius on November 28-29. Ukraine was expected to sign the agreement with the EU during the summit. Ukraine was to pass several bills and solve the problem of jailed ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko. Kyiv was demonstrating its determination to integrate with Europe. On November 9, Presidents Yanukovych and Putin held a secret meeting. The topics of the talks remain unknown. The Ukrainian authorities suddenly changed the rhetoric.