Arseniy Yatseniuk, a leader of the United Opposition with imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshnko, has refrained from giving an interview to the Kyiv Post for more than a year because his press service wanted to see the text before it comes out.
The Kyiv Post does not accept such conditions. Finally, on Sept. 15, just before he spoke at the Yalta European Strategy, he relented to give an interview with no strings attached.
For 30 minutes, Yatseniuk talked about his complicated alliance with his former rival Tymoshenko, the challenges of the campaign ahead of the Oct. 28 parliamentary election, his plans in the next parliament and other issues.
These are the highlights of the interview with the former foreign minister and former speaker of parliament.
KP: How’s the campaign going?
AY: To say that it’s not going easy is to say nothing. The campaign is very difficult. To convince the people – it’s very difficult in Ukraine after 2004 [Orange Revolution].
KP: Can you give me the list of your first three actions in parliament?
AY: I will start with the political set [of laws] that the parliament has to approve regarding the president. They are the law on impeachment procedure, the law on calling off a people’s deputy, introduction of a personal voting system and criminal responsibility for voting with someone else’s cards. The dream of [President Vikotr] Yanukovych to only get rid of immunity from prosecution does not match the opposition’s agenda to take immunity off the deputies, the courts and parliament members.
KP: Can you give me a realistic assessment of how many seats you will win through party lists, and what size of a faction you’re going to have?
AY: I want to be a realist. Of course, we need a majority in parliament, but it is very hard to achieve. Our minimal program is to have more than 150 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada. The maximum program is 226, possibly with other parties and candidates who went to majority constituencies.
KP: What is your relationship with Tymoshenko?
AY: We signed a declaration of unity. Today, Tymoshenko and I are together. We have always had a complicated relationship, but it was very interesting. She is a very interesting personality. The time has come to trust each other.
KP: In the long-term plan that you mentioned, have you divided up the roles for the presidential election and after?
AY: I want Yulia Tymoshenko to come out of prison. If she has a right to take part in the presidential election, and if she will truly have better chances to defeat Yanukovych, then so be it.
[But] this will be our joint decision.
KP: What’s your assessment of the our current relationship with Russia?
AY: I would rather assess Russia’s attitude to Ukraine. Our Russian partners are fulfilling a plan that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin laid out clearly in his inauguration speech – Eurasia is [the aim].
KP: Do you see a parallel between Yanukovych and the path Russia has taken?
AY: Possibly the Ukrainian government is infected with the so-called “Russian democracy,” but that does not mean the Ukraine will repeat the Russian scenario. I know that incumbent President Yanukovych is dreaming about staying in power eternally and passing it to his heirs. That’s why he is trying to get 300 votes in parliament.
KP: What do you think are the chances of fraud in the election?
AY: As usual. This is a fact that always takes place in Ukraine when [Yanukovych ally Andriy] Klyuev is managing the election in the Party of Regions. The question is how much they will steal.
KP: You’re often described as a very self-confident person, and even contemptuous. What do you think of this?
AY: Come to the tour with me, and make up your own mind.
KP: Why do you think you make such an impression and what are you prepared to do about it?
AY: Because I am bald and wearing glasses.
KP: You are leader of the opposition, but are detached. For example, none of the journalists has your cell phone number, but we have numbers for many top incumbents. Why is that?
AY: I do not use cell phones. I stopped using them a year ago after all recordings of my phone conversations were published on daily.ua and a range of other sites. But I do use Facebook. If you want to write something to me, I will be happy to receive everything that you want to write. We need part with communication devices of the past. Skype, Facebook and email.
KP: Who is financing your election campaign? You’re often accused of having oligarch support.
AY: You know, the problem with oligarchs is solved now because the oligarchs are financing all the other campaigns but ours. Look at our list, a significant share of people who are running in both the party list and others who have worked with us, have given money to our campaign.
Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected]
