Europe and USA do not trust Ukrainian President but still wait for the parliamentary election

The most influential European and US politicians stress the importance of the political dialogue with Ukraine despite a lot of questions to Ukrainian authorities regarding the persecution of oppositional figures and the selective justice. They also mentioned the importance of the upcoming parliamentarian election which are expected to be held on 28 October and the following actions of Ukrainian authorities.

European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle, Sweden Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and German Member of the European Parliament and current Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok have met with Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich at the Livadia Palace in  Yalta (Crimea) during the European Forum YES and stated that the legitimacy of the future Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) will depend on the conducting of the election.

“The legitimacy of the future Parliament will depend on the way of conducting the upcoming election. The election should be free, fair and transparent and conducted according to the international norms and standards. We’d like to stress here the importance of the freedom of expression and media”, - was announced in the statement of European politicians.

At the same time there should be no break or pause in the relations between Ukraine and European Union, according to the statement.  But it is considered being extremely important that any compromises in the field of values and the problem of selective justice are unacceptable.

European politicians and representatives of European Parliament also expressed their deep regret over the situation when some oppositional leaders are not able to take part in the election due to the court decisions and trials which did not correspond the international standards of fairness, transparency and independence of the judicial process.

Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich delivering his speech
during YES forum in Yalta

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, also made the similar statements during the YES forum. She dedicated her speech to the issues of democracy and stated that the country could consider being a democratic one only in case of compliance of several principles, and the issue of the fair and independent judiciary is also among them. Condoleezza Rice also said that the leaders of the country and the ruling political powers could be changed, but the judiciary must always remain independent and far from any influences, and the authorities should avoid persecution and oppression of the oppositional figures and forces.

Condoleezza Rice along with the European parliamentarians stressed that the break of the dialogue with Ukraine is unacceptable, like with other countries seeking the European membership in the future.

Mrs. Rice said that if Europe will close itself during the financial crisis from the countries with the young and developing democracies, there could be a threat of losing the powerful magnet for the development of democratic process not only in Europe but also in the whole world.

The representatives of Ukrainian authorities on the YES forum are positive over the statements of US and European politicians. Thus Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantyn Gryshenko stated in his interview to the journalists that the meeting between Ukrainian President and US and European politicians indicated the importance of the continuing of the political dialogue and stability of the relations. But at the same time he left without answer the question of the journalists regarding the upcoming summit of Ukraine and EU. The summit is expected to be held in December 2012.