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The European Union has said it will suspend efforts to work with
Ukraine on a trade and cooperation agreement, as 200,000 government
opposition protesters gather for a rally, marking the start of a fourth
consecutive week of unrest.The EU said on Sunday that Kiev's government has "no grounds in reality".
Stefan Fuele, EU enlargement chief, said on Twitter that he told Ukraine's first deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov that the EU would further discuss a trade agreement if Ukraine's government showed a commitment to sign it.
But Fuele said he has not heard back, so negotions are on hold.
Meawhile, tensions are expected to mount as authorities have organised a demonstration to counter the opposition's scheduled rally.
They too vowed to hold a "non-stop protest" and said they would bus thousands of Yanukovich supporters from the provinces to a park near the opposition camp.
International support
Protesters have remained in Independence Square in the capital Kiev since Yanukovich turned down the EU trade deal in favour of fostering closer ties with Russia.
Both US and European politicians have shown their support for the opposition's cause.
Republican Senator John McCain flew to Kiev on Saturday for meetings with Vitali Klitschko, head of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform party (UDAR), nationalist leader Oleg Tyagnybok and Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the head of Yulia Tymoshenko's party.
He praised the protests as "an incredible show of patriotism".
President Yanukovich is under pressure to choose to align Ukraine with the West or with a Russian-led Customs Union.
- He will travel to Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
15/12/13
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ЕС спря работата по споразумението с Украйна...
ReplyDeleteЕвропейският съюз е прекратил работата по споразумението за асоцииране с Украйна, след като не успя да получи "ясен ангажимент" от президента Виктор Янукович, че ще го подпише, предаде BBC. За прекратяването на преговорите съобщи в Twitter и еврокомисарят по разширяването Щефан Фюле.
"Работата е спряна", написа той в социалната мрежа и допълни, че е казал на вицепремиерът Сергей Арбузов, че Украйна трябва да покаже "ясен ангажимент, че ще подпише"
Днес за пореден път протестиращи се събраха в Киев. Около 200 000 проевропейски настроени се събраха на площад „Независимост”, за да изразят несъгласието си с отказа на Янукович да подпише споразумението.
Това е поредната серия от протести в страната, след като през ноември Янукович направи крачка назад от подписването на споразумението.
Протести в неделя се провеждат в близост до мястото, където се състои пък проправителствен митинг. Това предизвика опасения за възможни сблъсъци между двете групи.
Междувременно американският сенатор Джон Маккейн е в Киев, където той се обърна към протестиращите. "Украйна ще направи Европа по-добра и Европа ще направи Украйна по-добра", каза им той.
"Ние сме тук, за да подкрепим вашата справедлива кауза, суверенното право на Украйна да определи собствената си съдба свободно и независимост", каза той.
http://www.dnes.bg/world/2013/12/15/es-spria-rabotata-po-sporazumenieto-s-ukraina.209587
15/12/13
Russia, Ukraine to sign hefty package of papers after intergov’t session on Dec 17 ....
ReplyDeleteThe December 17 session of the Russian-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission in Moscow will be chaired by the two presidents, Vladimir Putin and Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin press service reports. It says the session is expected to consider the most pressing aspects of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, coordinate joint steps to promote promising mutually-beneficial projects, primarily in energy, transport, space, farming, investment and regional cooperation.
"Serious attention is supposed to be paid to the development of a dialogue in the cultural, educational and scientific spheres. Interaction within the framework of the CIS and pressing international problems are also on the agenda," the press service says.
"An impressive package of bilateral documents is expected to be signed at the end of the session," the report says.
IMF to consider financial aid to Ukraine, while Yanukovych heads to Russia to negotiate with Putin
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet on Monday, December 16, to consider financial aid to Ukraine as the country balances on the brink of a fiscal crisis. The terms put forward by the IMF are spending cuts, the flexible exchange rate of the hryvna and higher gas tariffs for the population. Right after that, on December 17, Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych heads to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin and to participate in the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission session.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet on Monday, December 16, to consider financial aid to Ukraine as the country balances on the brink of a fiscal crisis. The terms put forward by the IMF are spending cuts, the flexible exchange rate of the hryvna and higher gas tariffs for the population.
Ukraine hopes to obtain $15 billion in IMF loans which it desperately needs to bolster its economy and meet its debt liabilities. Earlier, President Viktor Yanykovych rejected as unacceptable calls for radical macroeconomic reforms being pressed on him by the IMF.
Tuesday, December 17, Yanukovych and Russian President Vladimir Putin will chair a session of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission in Moscow. A package of bilateral documents has been prepared for signing. The meeting will take place amid ongoing pro-European integration protests in Ukraine which have entered their third week, hampering the normal functioning of the central power in Kiev.
Yesterday, the European Union suspended talks on an association agreement with Ukraine after accusing the Ukrainian government of being reluctant to negotiate. The United States has threatened the Yanukovych government with sanctions. The opposition is meantime shifting attention from demands to bring those responsible for the brutal breakup of protests to account to preventing the “sale” of Ukraine during Yanukovych’s visit to Moscow. As the West-backed opposition remains defiant, it appears to be a deadlock situation for Yanukovych.
Ukraine situation to be discussed at EU December 19-20 summit
The situation around Ukraine will be discussed at the European Union summit on December 19-20, a diplomat of an East European country said in the run-up to a meeting of the EU foreign ministers on the results of the outgoing year that is opening here on Monday.......http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_12_16/Russia-Ukraine-to-sign-hefty-package-of-papers-after-intergov-t-session-on-Dec-17-1057/
16/12/13
Κομισιόν: Η Συμφωνία Σύνδεσης με την ΕΕ είναι έτοιμη, από το Κίεβο περιμένουν την υπογραφή της ......
ReplyDeleteΤο Κίεβο δεν έχει αναλάβει οποιεσδήποτε δεσμεύσεις σε ό,τι αφορά την υπογραφή της Συμφωνίας Σύνδεσης με την ΕΕ και αντέδρασε ασαφώς κατά τη διάρκεια της πρόσφατης συνάντησης μεταξύ του Ευρωεπιτρόπου Στέφαν Φίλε και του Α΄ Αναπληρωτή πρωθυπουργού της Ουκρανίας Σεργκέι Αρμπούζοφ, δήλωσε σε μπρίφιγκ στις Βρυξέλλες ο επίσημος εκπρόσωπος της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής Πέτερ Στάνο.
«Σήμερα δεν υπάρχουν εργασίες σε ό,τι αφορά τη Συμφωνία Σύνδεσης, όλες έχουν τελειώσει. Σήμερα το θέμα είναι πως μπορεί να υπογραφεί αυτή η συμφωνία και να υλοποιηθεί, ικανοποιώντας παράλληλα της επιθυμίες της Ουκρανίας», - είπε ο Στάνο.
Διαβάστε ολόκληρο το κείμενο: http://greek.ruvr.ru/news/2013_12_16/255966763/
16/12/13
La Grande-Bretagne espère que l'Ukraine finira par signer un accord d'association avec l'Union européenne, a indiqué le chef de la diplomatie britannique William Hague dans un article publié lundi dans les pages du Daily Telegraph...........
ReplyDelete"Je suis aux côtés de ceux qui défendent à présent leurs vues sur l'avenir de l'Ukraine, en tant qu'Etat libre, souverain et démocratique avec des liens plus étroits avec l'Union européenne et des relations avec la Russie reposant un respect réciproque. Tout le monde a intérêt à ce que l'Ukraine soit stable et prospère. Je crois toujours que la meilleure voie menant à un avenir radieux passe par l'accord d'association", a souligné le ministre.
Et d'ajouter qu'en rejoignant la zone de libre-échange européenne, l'Ukraine accèderait aux marchés de plus de 500 millions de consommateurs. A terme, selon lui, le PIB de l'Ukraine dépassera 6%, les tarifs et les prix baisseront sous l'impact de la concurrence, tandis que le taux de consommation augmentera de 12% pour chaque ménage.
"Il ne s'agit aucunement d'un jeu à somme nulle ou du choix , soit la Russie, soit l'UE+", a affirmé le secrétaire au Foreign Office.
http://fr.ria.ru/world/20131216/200031397.html
16/12/13
Yanukovich admits that government failed to explain suspension of agreement with EU....
ReplyDeleteKIEV, December 24, /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has admitted that the government failed to clearly explain to the people why it had postponed the signing of the association agreement with the European Union, which triggered mass protest action in Kiev’s central Independence Square.
“The position of manufacturers from the most vulnerable economic sectors was not taken into account while working on the free trade zone agreement,” Yanukovich said on Tuesday. “This works should have been based on meetings with sectoral business associations, the study of their viewpoints, the study of the public opinion and open parliamentary hearings.”
“This is not a document that should have been closed,” the Ukrainian president said. “Naturally, we should have organized a broad discussion of this issue to base the future decision on. It was a tremendous drawback that had influenced the decision.”
He noted that the association and free trade zone agreement in the existing format would have entailed economic damage to the farming sector, transport machine-building, aircraft-building and high technology industries. “If we sign the agreement on such conditions, it would have negative consequences for us,” Yanukovich said. “People would never forgive us such mistakes.”
Speaking about the reasons for protest actions, the Ukrainian leader noted that such actions “stemmed from people’s wish for better living.” “Many people are guided not by reason but by emotions,” he said. “So, politicians, extremists and various kinds of provokers played on this emotional burst. We must learn a lesson from this and we shall do it to avoid such things in future.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/712811
24/12/13