Russia expects to see improved relations with Ukraine after the Moscow-friendly Victor Yanukovych won the Feb. 7 presidential election, President Dmitry Medvedev’s spokeswoman told reporters on Feb. 11. The Kremlin said Russia hoped ties would improve once current President Victor Yushchenko left office.
“The president congratulated Yanukovych with his success and his position is well known: he (Medvedev) was not ready to work with Yushchenko,” Kremlin spokeswoman Natalya Timakova told reporters in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
“Any other democratically elected president we view as a partner,” she said. “We do not see any problems and very much hope that our relations will be better than they were under Yushchenko.”
Relations between Kyiv and Moscow soured after Yushchenko was propelled to power by the 2004 Orange Revolution, which overturned a fraud- marred vote in favor of Yanukovych, then the Moscow-backed candidate.
Yushchenko irritated Moscow by pushing hard for Kyiv break free from Russia’s grip and to join the NATO military alliance. To Moscow’s alarm, he also dedicated much of his presidency to reawaken and shape Ukrainian national identity, differentiating it from Russia, and giving tribute to nationalist leaders.
In contrast, Yanukovych is expected to pursue agendas that fall in line with Moscow’s view of history and geopolitics. He opposes NATO membership, supports giving Russian official status in Ukraine as a state language, and has joined Moscow in criticizing Yushchenko for trying to rewrite history.
Experts say, however, that Yanukovych could rile Russia by seeking lower prices on imported natural gas, and could find it difficult to balance Ukraine’s Western-oriented interests while also maintaining friendly ties to Russia. Yanukovych has said he supports Kyiv’s plans to integrate more closely with the European Union, seeking to ink a free trade agreement this year and membership in the long term. But these foreign policy goals could interfere with his self-declared plans to bring Ukraine into a customs union with Russia, and other ex-Soviet republics, including Belarus and Kazakhstan.
