A $15 billion (€11 billion) Russian aid package for Ukraine began to take shape yesterday as Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych went public in defence of the deal, but offered no concessions to persuade thousands of protesters to leave the streets.
In his first public appearance since agreeing the deal with Moscow, he argued that securing cheaper gas and credits from Russia had been the only way to avoid default.
Soon after, his government issued a $3 billion two-year eurobond whose terms corresponded exactly to those of a bond that Russia had said it would buy as part of a $15 billion lifeline to help its former Soviet ally out of economic crisis.
But, in a televised news conference lasting more than one-and-a-half hours, he showed no readiness to meet opposition leaders’ demands for the resignation of his government or early elections. He said their actions were “revolutionary”.
Wait for the elections and the Ukrainian people will have the last word
His only slightly conciliatory gesture was to say that he would not run for re-election in 2015 if he felt he might lose.
“If my ratings are low and I have no prospects (of winning), then I shall not get in the way of the country developing and moving forward,” he told a questioner.
Unrest erupted in Kiev after Yanukovych decided on November 21 to walk away from a trade deal with the EU. Weekend rallies, sometimes drawing hundreds of thousands people, have been boosted by opposition charges of police violence.
Yanukovych implied that police would not use force again to try to disperse the demonstrators, up to 2,000 of whom are camping in Kiev’s Independence Square. But he made no attempt to reach out to them to try to defuse the crisis.
“Personal ambitions have to be kept in check. I am categorically against the politicians who have initiated revolutionary actions,” Yanukovych said.
The main opposition leaders – boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk and far-right nationalist leader Oleh Tyahnybok – say they will try to keep people on the streets over the New Year holiday.
With his popularity at a low after four weeks of unrest, Yanukovych indicated he had no intention of agreeing to an early presidential election before the due date in early 2015.
“We have a Constitution and law – wait for the elections and the Ukrainian people will have the last word,” he told opposition leaders.
Many of the protesters are from western and central Ukraine where opposition parties are strongest. A vast New Year’s tree looms over their camp, festooned with graffiti attacking Yanukovych and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as a huge portrait of Yanukovych’s arch-rival, jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Several hundreds more are occupying Kiev’s City Hall.
Russia agreed on Tuesday to buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian Eurobonds and cut the price of gas supplies, weeks after Yanukovych unexpectedly spurned a trade pact with the EU.
The opposition has accused Yanukovych of selling out Ukraine’s European future.