You're reading: Klitschko denies Firtash’s financing his political force

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has said that he has never signed any agreements with oligarchs and Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash has never sponsored him or his political force.

“I have never signed any agreements with oligarchs. Firtash has never funded me and my political force. I do not have any obligations to anyone, except Kyiv residents who elected me as their mayor and entrusted me with the management of the capital,” Klitschko said in a response to a query by MP Mustafa Nayyem, Kyiv mayor’s press service reported on Friday.

Klitschko said that a smear campaign had been launched and that they were trying to draw the mayor in.

“I’m not going to play someone’s dirty games aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian authorities, and Kyiv authorities in particular, and the destabilization of the situation in the capital and in the country. At present, the most important thing for me is to ensure proper functioning of the capital and address the issues of Kyivans,” the mayor said.

As reported, Firtash said during a court sitting in Vienna on April 30 on his extradition to the U.S. that he met with presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko and UDAR Party leader Vitali Klitschko on the eve of the 2014 presidential election, and that the meeting was his idea and was aimed at preventing the presidency of Batkivschyna Party Leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

“The main thing that we got [from the meeting] what we wanted: Poroshenko is the president, Klitschko has become the mayor (of Kyiv),” Firtash said.

In turn, former head of then Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, leader of the Opposition Bloc parliamentary faction Serhiy Liovochkin said at the court sitting that he was present at Firtash’s meeting with Poroshenko and Klitschko in Vienna, on March 24, 2014, where the 2014 presidential elections were discussed.

“Firtash believed that the unification of democratic candidates Klitschko and Poroshenko brought [Batkivschyna Party Leader Yulia] Tymoshenko’s chances to naught,” Liovochkin said.

The politician refused to disclose the details of the meeting and his role in it.

However, Liovochkin said that during that meeting, Firtash supported the withdrawal by Klitschko of his candidacy for the president, because Poroshenko had higher level of public support.