Deputy prime minister Yuriy Boyko today said: "We did not get a clear signal from our European partners that the losses that we have experienced over the past four months, [i.e. losses caused by the trade war commenced by Russia and other CIS states against Ukraine to 'persuade' them not to go westward] will be compensated. The country cannot afford this, hence today's resolution [to pull the plug on the AA deal in Vinius]."
He claimed since August this year, these losses have been of the order of $4-5 Bn.
What a nerve! He is a cabinet member considered to be very close to the Kremlin, a crooked member Firtash's pro-Moscow gas lobby, and the main interlocutor between Kyiv and Moscow in recent months.
Instead of working hard to protect his country's interest from this trade assault, Boyko is saying Ukraine has halted its progress along its Euro-integrational path because the EU will not compensate Ukraine for Russia's hostile actions...What a cheap chiseller...
And if the Europeans did pay up, where would the money go? Into the pockets of the those who artificially created this trade war in the first place - Boyko and Putin?
They really do take the Europeans for naive mugs...
It is your blogger's view today's turn of events will be taken very badly by the Europeans in the days to come. Up until today statements from them, and from the US have been reasonably positive, admittedly through gritted teeth, and the deal was certainly far from dead. Yanukovych will attempt to push the blame on Russia for forcing his hand - "I had no choice", but my view is the EU will not buy this.
p.s. the first link includes a video of Boyko making his statement. He briefly rubs his nose... body language readers frequently equate this with duplicity and lying...
Or an itchy nose
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