Moscow - The legitimacy of the Verkhovna Rada decision, which removed President Viktor Yanukovych from office, is highly doubtful, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov said.
“As far as I understand, the process of Yanukovych’s deposing was rather confused and its legitimacy causes qualms,” Pushkov told reporters.
The opposition leaders who struck the deal with Yanukovych on Feb. 21 on guarantee of EU representatives agreed that he would stay in office until the presidential election.
“Yet the Verkhovna Rada claimed the day after that Yanukovych was failing his duties. How he does not fulfill his duties? He went to Kharkiv for one day, not for two or three weeks. But that [trip] was used as a pretext for actually removing him and Turchynov proclaimed himself the acting president. Why is that, who vested him with those powers? And why was Yanukovych’s departure from Kyiv automatically interpreted as a ground to strip him of powers?” Pushkov wondered.
“It seems the sole purpose of the Feb. 21 agreement guaranteed by the European Union was to remove Yanukovych from office. But that agreement said he would be the president until the elections were held. This is why Yanukovych says he remains the legitimate president of Ukraine,” the parliamentarian continued.
This is a formal agreement and no one has explained why “it was suddenly disavowed,” Pushkov said, describing the situation as a serious collision.
