Watch this Private Members debate from the Westminster, on the UK relations with Ukraine.
UK Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Jeremy Browne responds to the debate initiator, Member of Parliament Helen Goodman.
It starts about 3 hours 30 minutes into the video, here:
From the Minister's replies it appears that at the moment UK Government is OK'ing the initialling of EU/Ukr Association Agreement in December.....[about 3hours 57minutes into the video clip...] even though he is very critical of what is going on.
LEvko's view is the minister seemed rather uncertain and unconvinced himself in his conclusions. Maybe Her Majesty's Gov't's position is not 'set in stone' on this..
p.s. Check out this peculiar Wikileaks report of a late 2006 meeting between then-PM Yanukovych and the US Ambassador in Kyiv. Two weird stories from Yanuk - is he a fantasist?
He recently purchased an internally heated solid marble massage table complete with fancy accessories, for 600,000 hryven [about $75,000] for one of his dachas in Crimea.
6 comments:
Time segment 13:00
Private Members’ Debate:
UK relations with Ukraine – Helen Goodman
Most members of the committee left the room.
The speaker is not well informed or misleading.
She failed to mention that the persecution of Tymoshenko was initiated by Viktor Yushchenko in 2009.
Written transcript of the debate should eb available by Hansard some time next week
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cmallfiles/mps/commons_hansard_4779_wad.html
Debate starts at 13:00 and finishes at 13:30
As I predicted some weeks ago, the strategy of the PoR towards the criticism from western officials on the Tymoshenko verdict is just to be even more persistent in claiming that she is a criminal that deserves to be jailed. The smearing campaign has just been stepped up, and the latest charge that she is implicated in a contract murder of a russian politician is completely in line with this. Unfortunately for PoR, this will not impress western officials. The smallest child can se that there is no legitimate legal substance in all these charges, only politically motivated persecution. Western officials are now also beginning to realize that PoR is actually planning to to impose election laws that will restore election system Kuchma, without any political consensus and completely contrary to recommendations from Venice commission. Despite the fact the Yanukovych stood in the parliament on independence day, promising to follow recommendations from Venice commission. Who will even bother to communicate with Yanukovych in the future? He does not listen, and his words are empty and meaningless. A fantasist? No doubt.
The debate was rather peculiar.
Both MP Goodman and Minister Browne seemed to be last-minute stand-ins. Both seemed to be rather inadequately briefed - checking their notes all of the time..
Nevertheless, these are the guys pulling the levers of power, so it is important to listen carefully what they say, whatever one's views.
Maybe the whole thing was all for the benefit of the Ukr. authorities..
There is a need for an audit on all Members of Parliament and senior government officials assets and income. Any unexplained difference should be taxed. What was his declared annual salary?
An intersting Memo leak (Novemner 3, 2006) . if only Yanukovych had a young wife.
The interchange about Yushchenko was very intesting as was Item 10 whioch states
"Yanukovych noted that he had said several times he
would not run for President. That would change, however, if
Yushchenko forced through a Constitutional Court decision to
overturn political reform which had devolved Presidential
powers to the Premier, Cabinet, and Rada majority. Such a
move, he warned, would end with Yushchenko leaving office
early, either through early elections or impeachment. The
overturn of political reform would not benefit Yushchenko
anyway, claimed Yanukovych, since he was a one-term
President. The only beneficiaries would be either Tymoshenko
or himself. He noted that new elections could also mean a
higher threshold - seven or nine percent - turning Ukraine
into a two-party system (Regions and BYuT).
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