The image on the right shows the voting pattern for the 2012 Ukrainian elections. The blue is for the ‘Party of Regions’ and the magenta is for the Fatherland Party.
With the poor state of the economy, the two opposing parties have advocated two different approaches. The Party of Regions has advocated closer ties with Russia with the offer of financial support and cheap gas, while the Fatherland Party wants closer ties with the EU. The problem is that whatever party is in control, there will be a sizeable number of people who will disagree.
While the Russian intervention has been talked about in the media, there has been little discussion about the role the Europe and the USA have played.
In November 2013 Putin offered to hold tripartite negotiations with Ukraine and the EU concerning trade and economic relations1. However, this was flatly refused by the EU2. So Ukraine was forced to decide which route to take with no possibility of compromise.
There has also been a massive push by the USA to get the outcome they wanted with $5 billion being spent “to help Ukraine to achieve a democratic European future for their country”3 according to Victoria Nuland (Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State). Not only did she help with this financial support, she also went to Ukraine to hand out food to the protesters.
In a leaked telephone conversation4, she also discusses who should be in power in Ukraine, stating that she thinks Arseniy Yatsenyuk “is the guy who’s got the economic experience, the governing experience”. Yatsenyuk is now the acting prime minister in Ukraine.
This support for various political leaders by the USA is nothing new in Ukraine and many other places5.
The current conflict between the USA/EU and Russia has nothing to do with ‘democracy’, Sovereignty of Ukraine or protecting the people. It is about who controls the gas/oil (Gazprom or Exxon/Shell/BP) and who has the right to exploit the people as workers and consumers. This also goes for the various ruling elites within the country, who will side with one party or the other for their own interests.
1 Putin: Russia ready for tripartite talks with Ukraine EU, for UK, 22 November 2013 (http://en.for-ua.com/news/2013/11/22/154845.html)
2 Barroso rules out possibility of EU-Ukraine-Russia tripartite negotiations, Voice of Russia, 29 November 2013 (http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_11_29/Barroso-rules-out-possibility-of-EU-Ukraine-Russia-tripartite-negotiations-3665/)
3 Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y0y-JUsPTU#t=472)
4 Ukraine crisis: Transcript of leaked Nuland-Pyatt call, BBC 7 February 2014 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26079957)
5 US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev, The Guardian, Friday 26 November 2004 (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/26/ukraine.usa)
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