Foreign media digest 29 October 2014

SUMMARY 10/29

Western media’s assumptions of parliamentary election results and the process of coalition formation becomes less emotional and deeper. Western analysts point out the contradiction between “pragmatic” Poroshenko, who seeks compromise solutions, and “hawk” Yatsenyuk, who made a series of harsh statements about the Kremlin before the election. This fact could harder communication process between Kyiv and Moscow.

The text with the retelling of the interview of Bernand-Henri Levy with Dmytro Firtash is symptomatic. Firtash is ready to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine. This promotion coincides with certain accents of political discourse inside Ukraine. Some Ukrainian politicians close to Poroshenko say not oligarchs, but bureaucrats are the main obstacle for reforms. 

CRITICISM OF THE WESTERN ROLE IN UKRAINE-RUSSIA CONFLICT

Western assumptions about Russia need to be questioned.. Project Syndicate: The author explains that the Ukraine crisis has shattered key Western assumptions about Russia and many analysts and policymakers have fallen back on the belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be acting irrationally. But it is Western assumptions that need to be questioned. In short, while it is perfectly rational for the West to want Russia as a partner, Russia considers the US and the EU enemies. The West can offer no conceivable partnership terms that Putin would accept. Either the West jettisons its fundamental values or Russia must change.
project-syndicate.org

Europe is turning its back on Ukraine. Guardian: Andrei Sannikov, Belarus activist and politician asks in his article for Guardian, why Europe is turning its back on Ukraine. He thinks European union more openly demonstrates its unwillingness to help Kyiv to survive. theguardian.com

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RESULTS

Ukraine said goodbye to the “Russian world” and made a choice in favor of Europe. Vladimir Putin has lost above all. Der Tagesspiegel: tagesspiegel.de
tagesspiegel.de

Paradoxically, the decisive factor in mobilizing the election in Ukraine was the policy of Russian President Putin. However, the election results may lead to a conflict in the European camp, “militant patriot” Yatsenyuk stands against pragmatic and ready to compromise Peter Poroshenko Berliner Zeitung: berliner-zeitung.de

Is Europe ready to evaluate benefits from its rapprochement with Ukraine and its freedom so highly that it accepts the further worsening of relations with Russia? Handelsblatt: According to the publication the fact that “Arseny Yatsenyuk, who is close to Washington and previously made harsh remarks” will play the key role in the new government, won’t affect positively during the upcoming negotiations between Putin and Poroshenko.
handelsblatt.com

Generally, elections ended in favor of those who support the Western vector of political parties and, in particular, for the benefit of the bloc, headed by Petro Poroshenko. At the same time, the elections showed that in fact Ukraine has experienced a split. Milliyet: According to this own words, three-quarters of voters supported pro-Western vector. The opposition, which supports pro-Russian position and ousted president Yanukovich is in the minority. The meaning and significance of this election is that the majority of Ukrainian citizens have turned their attention to Europe or the West. This is the will of the people, and to link this result with the Western provocations means not to see the facts. Meanwhile, election shows that in fact Ukraine has experienced a split. One part of the country – Crimea joined Russia. Eastern regions are under control of Russian separatists. Therefore, the population of these areas could not participate in the election. lemonde.fr

Yatsenyuk is holding secret talks with independent deputies. Der Standard: derstandard.at

Russia backs plan by Ukraine separatists for an early election.The New York Times: nytimes.com

Kiev has given up effective control of rebel-held territory, handing Russia a strong lever to influence its neighbor. The Wall Street Journal: online.wsj.com

NATO CHIEF’S STATEMENTS
NATO chief calls for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal: “The new civilian head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said the alliance wants a cooperative relationship with Russia, but that Moscow needed to take “clear steps” first to bring ties back from their post-Cold War low,” Stephen Fidler reports for The Wall Street Journal.
online.wsj.com

MEETING WITH FIRTASH
Following Bernard-Henri Levy story about “Marshall Plan for Ukraine”, he writes about his meeting with Dmytro Firtash. La Regle du Jeu: …Firtash did not say Poroshenko, but “Petro”, or more exactly “Petra” with an open “a” as a wonder…It says a lot about familiarity between two beasts, one of which became President, the other architect of financial packages as opaque as disorders, but it could have been otherwise. He admires his “toughness” which he demonstrated against powerful Putin. “Except…” “Except what?” I stressed. “I do not know…Words…I’m not sure he has found the words to talk to Putin.”

And when, at parting, I remind him that we are no longer in the days of Gatsby, and in America the honor of a rich man to share with the country at least what she gave him. And when I asked him, what if my Marshall plan is to be realized, what if he could invest some of his immense fortune in it, his lights for the first time since the beginning of the interview and he answered: I’ve been thinking a lot during those tough days, so much. Believe it or not, but this time I’ll be there.”
laregledujeu.org

SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA
Russian authorities try to be confident, but the collapse of the Soviet Union when the oil price in 1986 decreased by six to eight dollars per day and remained at this level for a long time remain a nightmare for Russia. Die Welt:
welt.de

The Ukraine crisis has opened up a deep political rift with Russia, Europe’s largest single foreign supplier of not only gas, but also oil, coal and nuclear fuel. The New York Times: nytimes.com

THE SITUATION IN CRIMEA

Russification of Crimea is intensified after eight months of peninsula’s annexation. Le Monde:
lemonde.fr