Ukraine's third president (2005-2010) Viktor Yuschenko has suggested that at the current stage of relations, Kyiv and Moscow would not have concluded gas agreements similar to those signed in Kharkiv in 2009.
"If the fate of the Kharkiv accords were sealed today, with the current relations between Ukraine and Russia, this agreement would not be signed. At present, Ukraine has been left with an empty deck. And now Russia says that it is ready to make concessions on gas prices, demanding the gas transportation system in exchange. And it looks like Ukraine has nothing to cover [this card]," Yuschenko said in an interview with the Ukrainska Pravda online publication on Friday.
He said: "If a year ago, the Ukrainian side made a clear statement about the unlawfulness of the 2009 gas contracts, and there is a legitimate reason for this, the current government would have a completely different position."
According to Yuschenko, over the first year of his presidency, Ukraine's incumbent leader Viktor Yanukovych "lost all the cards."
When asked his opinion about Yanukovych's true intentions towards the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and a free trade area with Europe, Yuschenko said: "Now I have a great belief that Yanukovych would not go to the Customs Union. Not because he does not want to. On the contrary, I think that a year and a half ago he wanted this. Pro-Russian orientation has always been Yanukovych's priority."
