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Title: Cheney blames Russia for Ukraine's woes
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URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2008090 ... conflictdiplomacy_080905105631
Published: Sep 5, 2008
Author: Kerry Sheridan
Post Date: 2008-09-05 08:48:09 by angle
Keywords: None
Views: 91
Comments: 5
KIEV (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday pledged support for Ukraine and pointed to Russia as the reason for the country's woes as he held talks with the squabbling president and prime minister. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has not spoken out on the Georgia crisis and abstained from a vote to impose restrictions on the movements of Russia's Black Sea fleet. Cheney spoke first with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and later met President Viktor Yushchenko as he looked to heal wounds in Ukraine's ruling coalition on a tour to bolster key US allies following the conflict in Georgia. "He acknowledged it's a challenging time for Ukraine because of recent developments in Russia," US administration spokeswoman Megan Mitchell told reporters after the closed-door meeting between Cheney and Tymoshenko in Kiev. "He said that later today (Friday) he would publicly reiterate the United States' commitment to Ukraine," Mitchell said. Ukraine is in the grip of a political crisis, with bitter infighting between the Western-oriented president and prime minister sharpened by divisions over ties with Russia following its war with Georgia last month. The squabbling highlights deep differences between the mainly Russian-speaking southeast of Ukraine and the predominantly Ukrainian-speaking northwest of the country, more oriented towards integration with the West. Cheney's visit to ex-Soviet Ukraine came as the flagship of the US Navy's Sixth Fleet arrived with aid in the Georgian port of Poti, close to where Russian forces have been deployed since last month's war with Georgia. European officials have suggested Ukraine could be the next flashpoint for tensions between Russia and the West after the war in Georgia last month that has left Russian troops occupying positions deep inside Georgian territory. Like Georgia, Ukraine has angered Moscow by bidding to join NATO and the EU. Yushchenko has said his country was a hostage in Russia's reassertion of influence in the former Soviet Union and has offered to boost defence ties with the West. He has also warned that Russia threatens stability in the region. Cheney, who has said his visit is intended to show US support for its allies in the former Soviet area, was likely to push the pro-Western leaders to patch up their crumbling government coalition, analysts said. In Georgia on Thursday, Cheney accused Russia of an "illegitimate" invasion to redraw the map of Georgia and unveiled a one-billion dollar (701-million euro) aid package to help reconstruction. The Russia-Georgia crisis has also begun to make an impact on the US presidential race as Republican hopeful John McCain tried to shore up his image as the stronger candidate on foreign policy and security issues. "Russia's leaders, rich with oil wealth and corrupt with power, have rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power," he said as he accepted the Republican White House nomination in Saint Paul, Minnesota. "They invaded a small, democratic neighbour to gain more control over the world's oil supply, intimidate other neighbours, and further their ambitions of reassembling the Russian empire," he said in the speech on Thursday. Tymoshenko and Yushchenko have both been considered Western-leaning politicians despite differing on domestic political issues. Yushchenko on Wednesday accused his opponents in parliament of a coup attempt and threatened early parliamentary elections after the prime minister's party sided with pro-Russian deputies to pass laws cutting his powers. Tymoshenko, once a close ally of the president's, in turn accused him of having "destroyed" the governing coalition by pulling out of an alliance with her party after the approval of the legislation. Tymoshenko has denied press reports she has tilted towards Moscow and is about to form a new coalition with the pro-Russian opposition, but she has not openly criticised Russia over the Georgia crisis. Before departing later Friday for Italy, Cheney was to visit the Holodomor memorial in central Kiev which commemorates Ukraine's famine in the 1930s.
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