Ukrainian multi-millionaire businessman and politician Viktor Medvedchuk spoke of his close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an interview he gave to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on June 24.
Medvedchuk, an associate of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych who is widely seen as a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukrainian politics, has played a key role in high-level diplomatic relations between the two countries since the EuroMaidan Revolution. Medvedchuk has acted as a middleman between the two regimes, and currently helps negotiate the exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners.
Medvedchuk has allegedly overseen the 2010 gas agreement concluded between Ukraine and Russia that led to millions funneled out of the country’s economy. The Ukrainian businessman also has close personal ties with Russia’s president – Putin is the godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter.
In the interview with Novaya Gazeta, Medvedchuk discusses his role as a middleman between the two countries, their future bilateral relations as well as the development of the Donbas region.
The original Russian-language version of the interview is available here.
Here are some of the top quotes the Kyiv Post picked from the interview:
On ties with Russia
“For me, such relations [with Putin] are a great honor. It makes many (in the Ukrainian elite) jealous!”
“I have for a long time, since the beginning of the nineties and before all the events [of the EuroMaidan Revolution] have maintained my position. But back then, Moscow was uninterested in me.”
“It goes without saying that there are moments during our discussions that I sometimes need to convince Putin.”
“[Yanukovych and Former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov] simply did not read the Association Agreement on Free Trade with the EU! These documents were not even translated into Ukrainian, when they signed them!
“Once Merkel and Hollande understood, that the EU would have to bear the economic problems of Ukraine, they began to search for mutual understanding and to negotiate with Russia.”
“I have ambitions, but today I will not speak of them, as the ideas that I maintain, as you said, are unpopular. From the start they must be made popular, and then we can talk about my ambitions.”
On prisoner swaps
“We are not ceasing our search for paths for the freeing of citizens of both countries. We’re talking about Ukraine’s Sentsov, Kolchenko, Karpyuk, Klykh and also about many Russian citizens held in Ukraine.”
“Many in the Donbas region will simply not get amnesty [from Ukrainian authorities].”
On the Minsk agreements
“Poroshenko has the will, but not the political resources.”
“If you ask regular people whether they support peaceful regulation, you will receive the same answer: people want peace, they are tired of opposition, deaths, tears, misery. People do not want to fight, except for those with radical tendencies.”
“The leaders of France and Germany have not once asked about passing the law on elections and holding elections in Donbas (even naming different dates) and tried to convince the Ukrainian side of the necessity of such a step. But nothing has happened.”
“I want to say that democracy is not the best form of government for passing through reforms.”
