Strange as it may seem, stability is setting in in Ukraine. The final post-EU-Ukraine-summit press conference with President Yanukovych had no unexpected questions asked or other unpleasant surprises. Regional media people posed the right kind of questions and their central counterparts brought up subjects the head of state was accustomed to hearing, mostly concerning Yulia Tymoshenko and gas from Russia. Each group of journalists had time to ask five questions. To cut a long story short, the following are what I believe were the key aspects.
The news conference was to last for two hours. The president’s opening address lasted for 30 minutes, with the emphasis on foundations having been laid in Ukraine, and that Ukraine needed “moving forth,” but not doing so “sideway or, plainly speaking, backwards.”
President Yanukovych went to bed at 3 a.m. the night before the press conference. He said so answering Ukrainska Pravda’s remark that, whereas Ukraine has problems with its economy, his living standard is rising, including the Mezhyhiria construction project, a personal helicopter rented from a firm controlled by his son for a million dollars. Yanukovych’s reply was: “I’m not worried about the way you’re capitalizing on such topics; I’m not worried at all. I will tell you why. I have very little time left for pleasure. Very little time. Last night I returned home around three and got up at six o’clock in the morning… I know nothing about the luxurious lifestyle you keep writing about. Well, keep writing about it, about my family, but I can tell you one thing: I don’t envy you.”
President Yanukovych went to bed so late because of his visit to Moscow, trying once again to make a deal with Russia, so Ukraine could pay less for gas supplies. Official Kyiv can’t make this deal with the Kremlin. Prime Minister Putin told his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov: “… that’s why you keep sucking our blood…” This phrase is further proof that Moscow has no intention of amending a gas supply agreement that serves its interest. It is also proof of Russia’s looking down its nose at Ukraine. As a reminder, of Russian President Medvedev suddenly canceled a meeting with Ukrai-nian President Yanukovych (although the heads of state did meet unofficially). As it was, a negative media response was underway.
Yulia Tymoshenko, another painful topic. Yanukovych never gave a straight answer to any straight question about how Ukraine’s political leadership was going to get out of a situation, with the West demanding the opposition leader’s release from prison. “What was I supposed to do? Forbid the law enforcement agencies to handle this case? All I demanded was that they never practice a selective approach… What I mean is I wouldn’t mind Tymoshenko being released, on certain conditions provided for by Ukrainian legislation.”
Questions from the audience weren’t impressive, broaching good old subjects. Acute and embarrassing as they sounded, none called for a new approach to the existing problems. Regional journalism rates a different story. All I noticed was that questions posed by regional media people caused their colleagues to smirk, sigh, look sideway, even doze off, while the head of state called each such question a very important one. Why? Perhaps the regional media and presidential environs are to blame. Problems will multiply unless something practical is done about them.
