Opinion: “Idea of neutrality” will prevail after parliamentary elections in Ukraine

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“The idea of ‘provisional neutrality for next decades’ in Ukraine’s foreign policy will prevail after the early parliamentary elections,” believes Ukrainian political analyst Andrei Yermolayev. He sounded such idea at a round-table discussion called “What Ukraine do the USA and Russia need” held in a videoconference regime between Moscow, Kiev and Washington on August 28.

The director of the Fund for Effective Policy (Moscow), Kirill Tanayev, disagreed with the Ukrainian expert. “I don’t think this idea would prevail, but it will be exploited during the 2009 presidential election,” he said noting that “a neutral Ukraine is an issue of principle for Russia and such decision would be positively treated in Russia.” Speaking on Russian and US involvement in the elections in Ukraine, practically all the experts, both in Kiev and Moscow and Washington as well agreed that “outside players observe the processes in Ukraine carefully, but from outside.” Because, as Yermolayev said, “they understand that elections in Ukraine are not determining the fate and the y will not settle the current reasons of the political crisis.”

Speaking on Russia’s influence and role at the Ukrainian elections, the head of the Center for Political Technologies (Moscow) Alexei Makarkin announced that “Russia is behaving very carefully trying to minimize its participation, as there is a risk that major players in Ukraine will again agree bypassing Russia, like it was after the elections in 2004 and 2006.”