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18 comments on Ukraine vs Russia: Tales of pipelines and dependence

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totoneila on December 2, 2006 - 2:40am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Hello Jerome,

Is Ukraine headed into political and geographic partition?  Just found this newsrelease:
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KIEV, Ukraine (Reuters) -- Ukraine's parliament on Friday voted to dismiss the foreign and interior ministers, allies of pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko.

Deputies approved by 247 votes a resolution sacking Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, the chief architect of the president's policy of moving Ukraine closer to the West and eventually seeking European Union and NATO membership.

A motion to sack Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko, a leading figure in the 2004 "Orange Revolution" that helped sweep Yushchenko to power, won 248 votes.

Both tallies were well clear of the 226 required for passage in the 450-seat chamber. Both parliament and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, Yushchenko's nemesis from the days of the huge 2004 protests, has been at odds for months with the president.

Yushchenko has denounced the action to remove his allies in the cabinet as destabilizing for Ukraine and vowed to challenge them. His allies in the chamber branded the vote a violation of Ukraine's newly amended constitution.

The votes followed a failed attempt to oust Lutsenko on Thursday. Parliament has also vowed to remove Defence Minister Anatoly Hrytsenko and is pursuing an investigation into his activities.
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Bob Shaw in Phx,Az  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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Buckler on December 4, 2006 - 9:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Stratfor (an intelligence service) wrote an article on the Ukraine split between the parliment and the president -- they generally are pretty informed about the CIS because they claim one former KGB captain as one of their analysts.  (the article is for subscribers only). Stratfor believes there is no predicent in the Ukrainian consistution for such a dismisal, and the president will likley be in gridlock for several months.  This is one more step in Russia's interests, as Russia is continuously working to gain a pro-Russian government in Ukraine, after losing the pro-Russian Kushma to pro-western Yushchenko.  So far, likely no political/military upheaval but it is tense.
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