GOR NOT DISAPPOINTED WITH TYMOSHENKO'S COMEBACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 005848 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV UP RS SUBJECT: GOR NOT DISAPPOINTED WITH TYMOSHENKO'S COMEBACK Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reasons 1.4 (B/D). ¶1. (C) Summary. Within a few hours after the election of Yulia Tymoshenko as Ukraine's new Prime Minister, MFA officials welcomed her "return", while expressing relief that many bilateral decisions put on hold in the absence of a "functioning" government in Ukraine could be made and implemented. The GOR will issue an invitation soon to Tymoshenko to visit Moscow. No change in the bilateral relationship is expected. End summary. ¶2. (C) In a December 18 meeting, which was prefaced with "The lady is back," MFA Second CIS Department (Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova) Director Viktor Sorokin told us that the GOR expected no notable change in the bilateral relationship. GOR officials believe that the durability of the new government will depend on Yushchenko -- how he crafts his relationship with Tymoshenko and whether he manages to create a workable level of harmony between the coalition and the opposition. The relationship with Viktor Yanukovich, who flew in for the December 17 United Russia Congress, will also remain delicate and important. Considering that Tymosheko's Prime Ministership was backed by more than 300 Rada votes in 2005, one could conclude that the mere two vote margin spells more troubles to come, he added. Sorokin affirmed that GOR officials know Tymoshenko well and are not disappointed with her comeback. He expected an early GOR invitation to Tymoshenko to visit Moscow. ¶3. (C) Although Russian economic interest has not suffered much from the recent months' political turmoil in Ukraine, Sorokin underlined what the GOR fears most is political instability in Ukraine, which would eventually affect the business climate in the country. With USD one billion Russian investment in Ukraine -- mostly in the energy sector, the GOR is hoping to expand its economic ties to telecommunication, banking and aviation industries. ¶4. (C) One "worrisome" trend, according to Sorokin, is of ideological nature -- the growing anti-Russia sentiment in Ukraine as manifested by several cases of "misinterpretation" of history. Sorokin argued that calling the Holodomor a genocide and rehabilitating Nazi collaborators as Ukraine's national heroes were not helpful for promoting better bilateral relations. Sorokin's point was a milder version of the MFA's December 14 statement which sharply criticized "openly nationalistic, anti-Russian and Russophobic sentiment in Ukraine" as "attempts to exploit complicated periods of the two countries' joint history," seeking to "exacerbate Russian-Ukrainian relations." BURNS