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