November 18, 2013

Viktor Yanukovich: Ukraine enigma at centre of EU-Russia contest

President Viktor Yanukovich©Corbis
Political rivalry: President Viktor Yanukovich has been criticised by the west for the jailing of Yulia Tymoshenko
By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev and Neil Buckley in London
As Ukraine confronts what has been cast as a “civilisational” choice between closer ties with the EU or Russia, the biggest question mark remains the country’s enigmatic president, Viktor Yanukovich, whose manoeuvring between east and west has confounded both sides.
At an EU summit in Lithuania next week, Mr Yanukovich will have the opportunity to seal a far-reaching association and trade pact that would open the path to much closer co-operation with Europe. It includes access to the world’s biggest single market and the prospect of massive investment – not to mention a definitive break from Moscow’s centuries-old influence over the country. Read more

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