Pro-Western Yushchenko Now Moscow’s Hope Too

According to popular theory, pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko is expected to deepen his relations with Russia just as White Russian President Alexander Lukasenko once did. In the first presidential election held ten years ago in White Russia, Moscow supported term Prime Minister Vycaslav in the same way. But once Lukasenko won the election as a pro-western candidate, he devoted himself to the development of a Russia-White Russia union to be led by Russian leader Boris Yeltsin.

In addition to the Ukraine’s mercantile connections with Moscow, the significant pro-Russian sentiment in the East will make it very difficult for this country to dismiss the pro-West camp immediately.

The ice that built up between Yushchenko and the Kremlin that openly supported Prime Minister Yanukovych during the first two rounds of the elections has thawed. After the announcement that they would work with Yushchenko if Russian President Vladimir Putin wins his elections, Yushchenko promised, in turn, to make his first foreign visit to Moscow if he wins the presidency.

Meanwhile, it is expected that a delegation from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry will visit Moscow to begin negotiations toward a normalization of relations.

According to the latest public opinion surveys, Yushchenko seems to be leading Prime Minister Yanukhovych by 14 points. Observers point out that Yushchenko’s lead may grow larger due to the shifting of public support from the Prime Minister to the opposition and the damage that the Prime Minister suffered due to the controversy over the second round of elections held on November 21st which were annulled due to corruption. Over 13,000 observers will monitor the repeat of the second round of elections.