Izvestia: "The Buckingham Scandal”
Natalya Antipova, Yanina Sokolvskaya, Kiev
Both Putin and Tymoshenko have been commenting on yesterday's article in Izvestia which describes how President Yushchenko armed Saakashvili's army.
Yushchenko was selling Ukrainian operational weapons to Georgia.
Both the Russian and Ukrainian Prime Ministers commented on Izvestia's article. The newspaper has obtained documents which attest that Mikheil Saakashvili preparing for the aggression had been receiving Buk anti-aircraft missiles, tanks and in general everything necessary with Viktor Yushchenko's knowledge and on his instructions.
Meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo government residence, Vladimir Putin and Yulia Tymoshenko discussed this topic along with the supplies of Russian gas (or rather, its price). However, Tymoshenko's visit to Russia began with a row.
YUSHCHENKO, PLANE, GIRL
The Ukrainian President failed to provide a plane to fly his Prime Minister to Moscow. At the height of the parliamentary crisis Yushchenko decided to get the better of Tymoshenko on an airfield, if not in the political arena.
Tymoshenko arrived at Borispol airport only to learn that the IL-62 plane would not take her to Moscow but would take Yushchenko to Lvov instead. Julia (Tymoshenko) bumped into the President at the airport, but stalked to the VIP lounge without shaking hands with him. The official version has it that Yushchenko was willing to provide Yulia with a plane, but his own plane which had taken off and headed for Lvov had to make an emergency landing in Kiev after 20 minutes. Yushchenko could not afford to postpone his one-day visit to Western Ukraine and so had to take the standby IL-62 intended for Tymoshenko.
Yulia immediately told journalists: "We are looking for charter planes to get to Moscow. The visit is on in any weather." A day earlier Tymoshenko announced that the aim of her Moscow talks was to try to reduce the gas price for Ukraine by 30-40 dollars per cubic meter (it now stands at $179.5).
An hour later Tymoshenko flew to Moscow by charter plane with Oleg Dubina, President of Naftogaz Ukrainy. The rented plane, according to Tymoshenko, was too small and could not hold the entire delegation. Only the best and most experienced in dealing with Russia were taken on board. They included the Prime Minister's press secretary Marina Soroka who said that Tymoshenko's opponents had deliberately tried to disrupt the Moscow talks.
Many experts are convinced that Yulia stood a fair chance of securing a gas price cut during the Moscow talks. This would be bad news for Yushchenko on the eve of the next early parliamentary election. From Izvestia's information, he may call a snap election for December 21 or December 28. According to Yushchenko's secretariat, the poll should take place after the Catholic Christmas and before the New Year, that is, on December 28. That would assure Yushchenko's Greek-Catholic West Ukrainian voters turning up at the polls. Izvestia's article on Ukrainian arms supplies to the Saakashvili regime also deals a blow to Yushchenko's reputation.
"IT IS A PITY THAT UKRAINE SUPPLIED ARMS TO THE CONFLICT ZONE"
"I am glad to see you", said Putin when he met Tymoshenko.
The Russian Prime Minister said that he and Tymoshenko had to work towards decisions, above all on energy matters. In addition, Putin was worried by Ukraine's accession to the WTO.
"You are a professional and you understand," Vladimir Putin said, fixing his gaze on his Ukrainian counterpart, "that certain problems connected with tariff regulation will arise."
Putin assured Tymoshenko that he respected Ukraine's decision to join the organisation (Russia itself has a similar ambition), but that he was worried that after Ukraine joins the WTO some goods would be replaced with imports from "third countries" because the customs and tariff regulations for WTO member countries are more liberal. At the same time, the agreements on trade and customs tariffs between Russia and Ukraine are also quite comfortable and liberal.
"We believe that vital issues will not be revised," Putin said, thus expressing his displeasure with Ukraine's eagerness to join the WTO and hinting at the political instability in the country.
Tymoshenko's face clouded, but that was only the beginning of the roster of complaints.
"Our meeting is taking place against the background of developments in the Caucasus." Putin went on. It is a pity that Ukraine chose to supply arms to the conflict zone. This is a special case and countries in such cases show particular restraint."
Yulia had a long face even before the main topic - energy - was touched upon. "I don't want to go into these matters", Putin said casually and suggested passing on to the main topic: "I mean the approaching winter."
"Russia is undoubtedly a strategic partner for Ukraine, we are interested in friendly relations," Tymoshenko gushed, adding that "we should overcome the difficult issues step by step" and that we certainly "have enough wisdom and responsibility to our peoples".
"I am aware that the situation around South Ossetia is complicated, I favour a peaceful settlement with all my heart, the Ukrainian Prime Minister assured Putin and added in a barely audible voice: "I think you do, too..."
"SOME PEOPLE HAVE COMPLICATIONS IN SPRING AND OTHERS IN AUTUMN"
At that point Tymoshenko passed on to the main issue. But while Vladimir Putin was already waiting (with some impatience perhaps) for the approach of winter, Yulia Timoshenko's thoughts were still in the autumn.
"Autumn is here and this is the time when ailments grow worse," she sighed aloud.
One shudders to think what ailments she had in mind: seasonal infections or something much more serious. She had every reason to think about more serious ailments especially after her plane was appropriated from her the previous day, reducing her to flying to Moscow in a small private plane. However, she pulled herself together and began to talk briskly about the matters that brought her to Moscow, even in spite of heavy logistical odds: "We have a chance to reach a strategic agreement on market prices, on a gradual transition to them, we are ready for it."
"Some have complications in spring, and some in the autumn", Vladimir Putin observed suddenly as the journalists were leaving the two premiers to discuss strategic matters. This drew laughter from Tymoshenko.
Obviously, she appreciated the joke. It was the right sort of mood for bargaining. However, little was left of the determination that she had displayed on the eve of the visit. "I will do my best to block such a price for Russian gas, but there are some political aspects to our relations", she said in Kiev on Wednesday promising to bargain for a price below $400 per 1000 cubic meters. By the way, on that same day, October 1, Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller said that the price of gas for European consumers had already reached $500 per 1000 cubic meters.
As this issue went to press, negotiations were still in progress.
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YUSHCHENKO TO BE IMPEACHED FOR SMUGGLING?
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko took up and added to the accusations of Viktor Yushchenko of weapons smuggling which yesterday's Izvestia confirmed by publishing documents. She said weapons supplies had been backed not only by the President, but also by his new associate Raisa Bogatyreva, formerly of the Party of Regions. Tymoshenko went to the Control and Auditing Agency asking it to check the legality of foreign arms sales.
"The orange princess" and her allies in parliament claim that "Yushchenko and Bogatyreva personally control the arms trade". The Government has been debarred from these activities. The opposition Party of Regions claims that Yushchenko was not only selling arms but tried to cover up the crime. This explains the fire that broke out at ammunition depots at Lozovaya station in the Kharkov Region which were slated for an inventory audit.
The Communists, and the militant wing of the Party of Regions called for Yushchenko's impeachment. The Communist Party leader Pyotr Simonenko says that the President's actions "have clear elements of high treason" as the sale of arms to Georgia had undermined Ukraine's defence capability. Missiles that were on combat duty were dismantled and sent to Mikheil Saakashvili at a 65% to 75% discount. It is to avoid impeachment that Yushchenko decided to dissolve parliament.
He told a press conference in Lvov that he would dissolve the Rada unless a coalition was formed by midnight on October 3. Yushchenko plans to call an early parliamentary election on December 21 or December 28.
