Epress.am News from Armenia
"Russian President Vladimir Putin during the last negotiations sat around the table, smiled, pulled out a dossier from the KGB archives from under the table, and said to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych: 'Well what, Viktor Fyodorovich, you're going to Europe and all of Ukraine will read this dossier? Or will Ukraine be in the Customs Union?' And a miracle happened: Yanukovych and his party stopped European integration," said Ukrainian Batkivshchinya (All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland") party MP Aleksander Bryhynets today, in conversation with the Russian Regnum news agency.
According to the parliamentary deputy, finding himself in a similar situation was Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who suddenly abandoned European integration in favor of the Customs Union. "Why did Yanukovych drastically change his position after meeting with Putin? Several months ago, a similar thing happened with Armenia's president, when he met with Putin and changed his position," said Bryhynets.
Earlier, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Rybak closed the special meeting and said that the three matters relating to "European integration" that were submitted for consideration are not ready. "The bill on the possibility of prisoners being treated abroad, unfortunately, has not been prepared by the parliamentary ad-hoc working group. The other two initiatives, [the law] on the [general] prosecution and [the law] on improving the legislation on holding elections, likewise are not ready. They need so many amendments that they need to be discussed for months in the committees," said Rybak.
Adoption of these three laws was the EU's strict condition for signing the Association Agreement. At the same time, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that Kiev is moving from the EU to Russia. "Ukraine cannot refuse to cooperate with Russia, since there is no source of compensation for the losses incurred by making such a move," said Ukraine's PM.