Ukraine, Yanukovich is back (from Russia), very high tension in Crimea

“I’m still the legitimate President,” he said. An armed group took the control of the Parliament of the Russian-speaking autonomous Republic. EU: “All parties should respect the territorial integrity of the country.”

Inside the power circles in Kiev, people are working to get the country back to stability. Outside, Ukraine gets more and more divided and on the brink of chaos. The day in which the Rada elected a transitional President, Arseni Yatseniuk, former Minister of Economy, ever-faithful to Yulia Tymoshenko, to lead the country to the early elections to be held on 25 May. In the meanwhile, Crimea is getting out of control. Simferopol, capital of the autonomous Republic, a pro-Russia armed group took control of the Parliament and of the government, hauling down the Ukrainian flag and lifting the Russian one instead. The Supreme Council deposed the Crimean government and called new elections to be held on 25 May, contemporaneously with a referendum for obtaining increased autonomy and loosening the links with the central government of Kiev.

Yet, the tension rose for the re-appearance of Viktor Yanukovich who came back after days with tones far from conciliatory. The deposed President is in Russia, in Rostov, where he is going to held a press conference. “I am still the legitimate President,” he said, reassuring that the South-Eastern regions, that is the pro-Russian area, are not to accept the new authorities acclaimed by people on the streets. The former President, subject to an international arrest warrant for mass murders, has also asked Moscow for guarantees on his safety, due to the “attacks by extremists” he received. A call which has been immediately taken by Russia, that assured him with “national security throughout the Russian territory.”

Moscow not only assured protection to the person who, according to Kiev, is responsible for over a hundred people killed, they also said they do not respect the newly established authorities. “Ukraine’s interim government approved by Rada is not a government of national unity but a ‘government of winners’ which includes extreme nationalists,” said Aleksandr Lukashevich, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Minister. Once more, a Russian position against the EU. According to the Union, in fact, the legitimate President of Ukraine is the one designated by the large majority of the Parliament in Kiev. As underlined today by Olivier BaillY, spokesperson for the European Commission, Yanukovich cannot be the person of reference, as said by Moscow. “All parties should continue to respect territorial intergrity in Ukraine,” he said, “and we ask Russia to have a potive approach in the interest of the Ukrainian people: we do not want to accentuate the contrasts, we are trying to find a sustainable solution for the prosperity of the country, and we hope the Russian Federation will be part of this solution.”

In the meantime in Brussels, no decision yet on the economic aid to be given Ukraine. Earlier this week, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Catherine Ashton, has coordinated a high-level meeting on the matter, with the Commissioner for Economic Affairs Olli Rehn, the Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht, the Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget Janusz Lewandowski, the Commissioner for International Coopeeration, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva, and the Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs. Still, “it is too late to communicate any figure,” said Bailly. Financial aid should come “urgently” said the European Parliament: with a resolution voted this week, MEPs called for an international conference of donors to raise funds.

The International Monetary Found has a positive approach too: they said they are ready to respond any request for help coming from Kiev. “We are discussing with all our international partners, at multilateral and bilateral level, about the best way to help Ukraine in this crucial, historical moment,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in a statement. “In the coming days, we will send an IMF fact-finding team to Kiev to undertake a preliminary dialogue with the authorities,” Lagarde said, as “this will enable the IMF to make its usual technical, independent assessment of the economic situation in Ukraine.” At the same time, the team will begin to discuss with the authorities the policy reforms that could form the basis of a Fund-supported program.

On the Ukrainian side, the Minister of Economy, Olesksander Shlapak, said he expects the arrival of the IMF team next week to discuss on a new loan programme for 15 billion euro.

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