UKRAINE: The United States and Russia clashed openly over the future of Ukraine's re-run elections yesterday while deadlock continued in the Kiev parliament, writes Chris Stephen in Kiev
Moscow accused unnamed foreign powers of interfering in Ukrainian affairs, and torpedoed an attempt by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe to agree a common front on supporting the new elections, due on December 26th.
And US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell dismissed Moscow suggestions that America was interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs.
"Spheres of influence, I think, is a term that really isn't relevant to the circumstances that we are facing today," Mr Powell told an OSCE conference in Bulgaria. "The people of Ukraine are playing democracy in the name of freedom." He was reacting to a warning issued on Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin against foreign powers interfering in Ukraine's politics.
At the OSCE conference, Russian Foreign Minister Mr Sergei Lavrov said he had blocked a joint resolution by the OSCE because it appeared to interfere in Ukraine's affairs. "Our partners demanded additional formulations which actually meant interference in the negotiation process in Ukraine," Mr Lavrov said. "The attempts to predetermine the outcome of these negotiations for us, of course, were not acceptable."
The result means the potential for an East-West split over the elections is very real. Russia continues to back the government candidate, Prime Minister Mr Victor Yanukovich, while the EU and America have expressed sympathy for opposition claims that previous elections were fraudulent.
In Ukraine attempts by EU foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana to mediate a truce between government and opposition seem to have failed.
Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma had called for constitutional changes to weaken the office of a future president, offering in exchange to sack the government which last week lost a no-confidence vote in parliament.
But parliament, dominated by the opposition Our Ukraine party, refused to consider constitutional changes, saying these would hobble their presidential candidate, Mr Victor Lushchenko, expected to win the St Stephen's Day election.
Opposition firebrand Ms Yulia Tymoshenko said that weakening presidential powers destroyed the point of winning the presidency. "If we approve it in full, presidential polls lose their point. There will be no difference who is president, because any president after such reform will be a ceremonial figure." In turn, Mr Kuchma refused to dismiss the government.
The result does not alter the election timetable of December 26th but some fear it means the same people accused of rigging the last elections will be running the re-run.
Meanwhile, finance officials in Kiev rang alarm bells over the deteriorating state of the economy. Officials made TV appeals to citizens not to indulge in panic buying of food stocks.