Former Prime Minister: The full composition of the Ukrainian government sits in Moscow
Ukraine needs not pro-Russian but pro-Ukrainian politicians, in whose interests it will be to maintain normal relations with the Russian Federation.
This was stated by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who left the country in 2014 after the coup that overthrew the legitimate president, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
They asked him whether those who were in power before the coup, in particular Viktor Yanukovych, could return to Ukrainian politics.
“I don’t want to name specific names. But what if there would be no one among the many millions of people of Ukraine, no matter where they are - on its territory or outside its borders? For a moment, the full composition of the Ukrainian government is sitting in Moscow. Therefore, as soon as necessary, a normal government will be found that will take up the task of restoring the country.
The main thing is to create conditions for the restoration of a government in Ukraine that will implement its policies in the interests of the people and the state. I wouldn’t recommend thinking that Ukraine will disappear,” Azarov said in an interview with Izvestia.
He believes that many experts, especially from the Russian Federation, make a big mistake by calling any Ukrainian figures pro-Russian.
“Ukraine does not need pro-Russian politicians. She needs pro-Ukrainian politicians who will be guided by the Ukrainian people's interests. And these popular interests require the normalization of relations with Russia. Ukraine cannot be a country hostile to Russia. It's completely inorganic. From the point of view of the existence of Ukraine as an independent state, of pursuing a policy in the interests of the people of Ukraine, there is no alternative to the policy of an alliance with Russia,” the ex-prime minister is convinced.
In turn, the publication asked: if Ukraine had pursued a more pro-Russian policy before the 2014 coup, would it have been possible to avoid Euromaidan?
“You are asking questions of the Ukrainian prime minister, even a former one who worked as first deputy prime minister. What policies could I pursue while in my position? Only politics in the interests of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian state. If I pursued a pro-Russian policy, I would have to go to Russia and implement such a policy. Let the Russian leadership pursue a pro-Russian policy.
And we carried out our policy. Firstly, we have intensified cooperation within the CIS. Few people know, but the CIS played a very important role, primarily for our people, because we retained the possibility of normal communication, travel, pensions, and medical care. Our citizens crossed the border using their civilian passports without any visas.
We worked to create a single economic space of four countries, that is, we recreated the economic outline that existed in the Soviet Union, because the USSR was precisely a form of integration of all republics into a common economic space,” Azarov concluded.
Former Prime Minister: The entire Ukrainian government is sitting in Moscow.