Ukraine's three former presidents -- Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko -- have a message for incumbent Viktor Yanukovych: Find a solution to the political stalemate through talks with Ukrainians.
“The
way out has to be found through an open dialogue with civic
society. The solution to the political crisis needs to be urgently
found in the format of a national round table,” the presidents’
joint statement reads. “For
the first time, the Ukrainian people took to the streets with a
non-political demand, which has unprecedented mass support. Their
sincerity and devotion to the European choice, democratic values and
patriotism deserve deep respect.”
They
also criticized the government’s toothless foreign policy, which became a wasted opportunity to sign a major
deal with the European Union. The government has also failed to secure good relations
with Russia, leaving the country in international limbo and domestic
chaos.
“The
weakness of the Ukrainian position before both the European Union and
Russian Federation is obvious. Ukraine until now has not demonstrated
a clear strategy and tactic in the European and Russian directions,”
the presidents said.
The
presidents’ advice will most likely fall on deaf ears, however.
Neither the government nor the opposition have showed any signs of
being ready to sit and talk.
Yanukovych opted to leave the country for China and then Russia, and
Prime Minister Mykols Azarov said on Dec. 4 that the authorities will
only sit at a roundtable “if the opposition unblocks government
buildings,” including the Cabinet, which is picketed by
anti-government protesters.
Opposition leaders also speak in ultimatums.
Leader
of the Batkivshchyna Party, Arseniy Yatseniuk, said at a briefing on Dec. 4 that
“the
situation is critical in my country. We behave as a very pro-European
opposition. No clashes, no violence, no provocations. No seizure of
presidential administration, or the government. What we promise, we
deliver. They behave like real bastards.”
“After
a meeting at the office of the Verkhovna Rada Chairman [Volodymyr]
Rybak we had a feeling that this government is assessing the events
in the country absolutely inadequately,”
said Oleh Tiahnybok, leader of Svoboda.
Council
of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, who arrived to Kyiv on
Dec. 4 to potentially mediate negotiations, told the Kyiv Post that
he was not particularly optimistic.
“I
don’t know whether this is possible to have a dialogue. But we are
trying to find out whether it is possible and how we eventually can
assist in such a process,” he said.
Kyiv Post deputy chief editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at katya.gorchinskaya@gmail.com
