Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on March 9 refused comment on a classfied U.S. State Department cable released March 7 by the Wikileaks whistleblower site, but seemed to corroborate that the views expressed in the cable corresponded with Ukraine's current foreign minister.
Authored on Jan. 30, 2009 by former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, the cable quotes Kostyantyn Gryshchenko as telling the ambassador that the Kremlin wants a "regency" in Ukraine, i.e. someone in power who is totally subservient to Moscow.
Taylor also noted that Gryshchenko, then ambassador to Russia and currently foreign minister, told him that Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin "hates" Viktor Yushchenko — president at the time–and has a low personal regard for Viktor Yanukovych, but apparently saw then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko as someone, perhaps not that he can trust, but with whom he can deal.
Gryshchenko is quoted as observing that everyone in government seemed to be part of the "security brotherhood." He said people are afraid to tell jokes; it is "back to the USSR."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Voloshyn told the Kyiv Post on March 9 that it is a policy of the ministry not to comment on classified U.S. State Department Cables published by WikiLeaks.
"If we comment on one of the cables, then we have to comment on all of the cables," he said.
Voloshyn added that the views Gryshchenko are well known and have not changed.
"Gryshchenko believed at the time that Russian leaders preferred to agree with Tymoshenko rather than negotiate a tougher deal with Yanukovych, who at the time was in the opposition," Voloshyn said.
Gryshchenko was Ukraine’s ambassador to Moscow from 2008-2010, when the Kremlin waged a public campaign against ex-President Viktor Yushchenko, who irked Russian leaders by relentlessly (and fruitlessly) promoting NATO membership and a less Russian-friendly view of Ukrainian history.
Gryshchenko has been the number one foreign policy guru in Yanukovych’s inner circle since the early 2000s.
