This week Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Stefan Fule, have had a couple of meetings to discuss the settlement of the current deep political crisis. Today Fule was interviewed by the excellent Natalia Humenyuk on Hromadske Radio.
One of his main messages was: "[European] foreign ministers [at the Council of Europe] made it clear that the EU is ready to react rapidly on any eventual deterioration of the situation on the ground."
Translating this from diplo-speak: If Yanukovych uses violent means to scatter the EuroMaidan sanctions against leading Ukrainian ministers will immediately kick in.
Fule called videos such as this one explaining reasons for sanctions under existing legislation 'best sellers', [ presumably in the circles in which he mixes...]
One of Yanukovych's closest advisers, head of the president's administration Andriy Kluyev, who has many business interests in Austria, would be one of the first in the firing line. Former PM Mykola Azarov, who flew to Austria to join his family who live there immediately after being sacked a couple of weeks ago, has now returned back to Ukraine....
There are credible reports that during the last few days of January Kluyev had secret meeting with Yulia Tymoshenko. She has been incarcerated in a Kharkiv clinic for many months and is currently serving a seven year stretch for 'abuse of power'. [At a press conference today following a visit to her by Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleksandr Turchynov, the latter, when asked, did not deny his leader may have indeed met Kluyev].
Among other things, at his meeting with Tymoshenko, Andriy Klyuyev allegedly proposed to the ex-premier in exchange for her support for Arseniy Yatsenyuk's appointment as PM she would be freed to fly to Germany for treatment. Kluyev also promised all activists detained for their links to the current crisis would be freed, and a commission to work on the drafting of a new Constitution would be formed.
Tymoshenko told Kluyev to piss off.
All this is quite revealing.
As I have mentioned many times previously, Tymoshenko was arrested, tried and sentenced in order to be used as a bargaining chip when the time was right. It seems the moment has come.
Kluyev and his pals now know - if serious violence is used against protesters they will be stuck in Ukraine [or Russia] for good. Sure, they have property and assets in Ukraine, but the bulk is most likely stashed away in offshore bank accounts and will not be much good if they are banned from travelling to Europe and North America. No happy retirement when they get old. Sanctions against them is a big weapon..
These people also know that without a swift injection of several billion dollars Ukraine's economy will quickly "go down the tubes". Putin will demand that in order any further funds be disbursed only someone trusted by him must become Ukraine's PM. Failing this, the EU could step in..but there will be serious strings attached and major economic pain linked to their proposals. They, like the Americans, would like to see someone like Yatsenyuk head the cabinet of ministers.
Party of Regions' will try to nominate one of their bandits, for PM, There are rumours that the 37 year-old former catering college student, now acting minister of justice, Olena Lukash, may even be nominated as a compromise...
Run for the hills boys...
p.s. There is mounting circumstantial evidence that off-duty Berkut personnel are responsible for the torching of dozens and dozens of activists' vehicles in Kyiv and elsewhere. Also very many of the detained activists who are currently being released, or are now on house arrest, are claiming they were horribly maltreated, particularly by Berkut goons. Berkut and other riot control forces are stoking up protesters' anger and are a serious impediment to a successful resolution of the current crisis.
Showing posts with label Kluyev. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kluyev. Show all posts
Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Azarov's Austrian visa mystery
Two days ago German Green MEP Rebecca Harms supposedly alleged acting PM Serhiy Arbuzov, Head of Yanukovych's presidential administration Klyuyev, and recently-sacked PM Azarov, all possess Austrian passports. The Austrians quickly discounted these claims, and Harms later admitted her declaration was mistranslated and that she had been misunderstood.
Oleh Voloshyn, a former highly placed ministry of foreign affair official explained on hromadske.tv tonight that Azarov left for Austria immediately after losing his job. As PM he would have had the benefit of a diplomatic passport so no visa would have been required in order for him to travel abroad in Europe - but this diplomatic passport would have had to be surrendered together with the keys to the PM's office and desk.
However, Azarov presumably would also have been in possession of a normal Ukrainian passport too. In order to use it to enter Austria a visa would have had to have stamped in it ...unlikely in the very brief timespan between his unexpected sacking and his entry into Austria just a few hours later.
The true situation is rather more murky. Austria's track record, and that of other smaller EU countries on issuing passports to very wealthy, highly dubious foreign politicians is not that good.
"Although selling passports is frowned on within the EU, it is not technically illegal and Malta was recently in the spotlight for selling passports for 539,000 GBP (600,000 EUR).
In Austria people who invest in property or business are also eligible to receive passports. The investments are typically made at the regional level and then the local government fast tracks the application.
There is also the chance for anyone who comes into Austria with a significant amount of money of getting a residence permit, which can then later be changed to citizenship under the 'Privatierslösung'.
The applicants do not need to have any skills, but they need to have a provable income of more than €3,500 a month. That means that this money needs to be paid into a local bank or through the purchase of property.
And with Austria refusing to extradite its citizens to Russia and it's satellite states like the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, it explains why there has been a flood of applications from the region to gain Austrian citizenship.". [Source]
It could be that the three 'heroes' mentioned by Harms possess Austrian residence permits....If these permits are available they most certainly would have been applied for. But as their businesses in that country come under close scrutiny the threesome may decide to give Austria a miss for a while...
Oleh Voloshyn, a former highly placed ministry of foreign affair official explained on hromadske.tv tonight that Azarov left for Austria immediately after losing his job. As PM he would have had the benefit of a diplomatic passport so no visa would have been required in order for him to travel abroad in Europe - but this diplomatic passport would have had to be surrendered together with the keys to the PM's office and desk.
However, Azarov presumably would also have been in possession of a normal Ukrainian passport too. In order to use it to enter Austria a visa would have had to have stamped in it ...unlikely in the very brief timespan between his unexpected sacking and his entry into Austria just a few hours later.
The true situation is rather more murky. Austria's track record, and that of other smaller EU countries on issuing passports to very wealthy, highly dubious foreign politicians is not that good.
"Although selling passports is frowned on within the EU, it is not technically illegal and Malta was recently in the spotlight for selling passports for 539,000 GBP (600,000 EUR).
In Austria people who invest in property or business are also eligible to receive passports. The investments are typically made at the regional level and then the local government fast tracks the application.
There is also the chance for anyone who comes into Austria with a significant amount of money of getting a residence permit, which can then later be changed to citizenship under the 'Privatierslösung'.
The applicants do not need to have any skills, but they need to have a provable income of more than €3,500 a month. That means that this money needs to be paid into a local bank or through the purchase of property.
And with Austria refusing to extradite its citizens to Russia and it's satellite states like the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, it explains why there has been a flood of applications from the region to gain Austrian citizenship.". [Source]
It could be that the three 'heroes' mentioned by Harms possess Austrian residence permits....If these permits are available they most certainly would have been applied for. But as their businesses in that country come under close scrutiny the threesome may decide to give Austria a miss for a while...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)