Former adviser to U.S. President for National Security Zbigniew Brzezinski believes that the imprisonment of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is a major challenge for democracy in Ukraine.
"With Tymoshenko’s case Ukraine is isolating itself from the West… For the EU, not only future relations with Ukraine, but Europe itself, is at stake. The concept of Europe is based on the interrelation of the concepts of sovereignty and democracy, which are the basis for cooperation and political unity," Brzezinski said at a round table "Ukraine on the path to a mature state," according to the Web site of the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America.
According to him, Ukraine’s estrangement from Europe only plays into the hands of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russia, but is not in the interests of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych.
"Sometimes Yanukovych takes a strong pro-Ukrainian position. Once he said in an interview, referring to Moscow, that Ukraine should not be addressed from a position of strength. Yanukovych said that Russia is trying to drive Kyiv to the Customs Union. This is a good statement. However, the Tymoshenko case, which is the product of Yanukovych’s decisions, is lowering its ability to respond to pressure," Brzezinski said.
He also said that the Tymoshenko case is the result of the country’s getting worse leadership.
"We can even say that the quality of leadership in Ukraine has rather deteriorated, and this has resulted in the current problems in Ukraine," he said.
