Fear of Russia over East West Alliances. UKRAINE :An interim cabinet has been named in Ukraine, which is trying to manoeuvre through po...
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| Fear of Russia over East West Alliances. |
Protest representatives proposed Ukraine's interim cabinet, which is tasked with helping govern the country until elections take place on May 25. The event was held on Wednesday evening on Kyiv's Independence Square (pictured), the site of mass protests for the past three months that led to the downfall of President Viktor Yanukovych.
The name put forth for the top spot of prime minister was Ukraine's former finance minister and pro-EU protest leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The 39-year-old politician chairs the Fatherland Party of ex-prime minister and Orange Revolution figure Yulia Tymoshenko.
The committee nominated the remaining cabinet members as well, but their names have not yet been released.
Parliament is to formally approve all nominations on Thursday. A delegation comprised of the foreign ministers from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary will then travel to Kyiv on Friday for a meeting with the new administration.
The quick establishment of a new government is a necessary step in order for the EU and the US to throw its financial support behind Ukraine, which is heavily indebted and is also struggling with a weakening national currency that is making repayment more difficult.
Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who helped broker the peace deal that led to the introduction of new leadership in Kyiv, was scheduled to meet US Foreign Secretary John Kerry and IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday and Friday, respectively, to discuss a possible economic package.
"From Germany's perspective, it is appropriate for the international community to close ranks on this," Steinmeier's spokesperson told news agency AFP. "Political stabilization of [Ukraine]…goes hand in hand with a process of economic and financial stabilization…[which] won't be possible without outside help."
Kerry: avoid 'Cold War confrontation'
The nomination of cabinet members came amid heightened tensions with Moscow sparked by the announcement of a Russian military drill, part of which would occur close to the border with Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the exercise to test Russia's battle readiness.
US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that, while Russia should not infringe on Ukraine's sovereignty, Western leaders should not let the incident cloud relations with Moscow.
"We are making it clear that every country should respect the territorial integrity here, the sovereignty of Ukraine. Russia said it will do that, and we think it is important Russia keeps its words," Kerry said in an interview with the MSNBC news show "Andrea Mitchell Reports."
"What we need to do now is not get into an old, Cold War confrontation," Kerry said.
His comments echoed those of NATO defense ministers' whose reaction came during a summit in Brussels on Wednesday. German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen also emphasized the importance of Moscow's involvement in restoring stability in Ukraine.
"One thing is very clear: it is not only in the interest of Germany, but of NATO and Russia, too, that Ukraine finds its way back to stability," von der Leyen said. "The country must not fall apart. Russia needs to be involved, there won't be a solution without Russia."
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| Thousands of people turned out to hold counter demonstrations in the southern peninsula Crimea |
The political turmoil between supporters of the new government and Ukrainians who favor closer ties with Moscow became violent on Wednesday.
Thousands of people turned out to hold counter demonstrations in the southern peninsula Crimea. The situation escalated into fist fights between the pro-Ukrainian protesters - largely made up of ethnic Tartars - and pro-Russian protesters.
Protesters clash in Crimea
In the days since the dramatic shift in leadership, tensions have mounted in Ukraine's Crimean region, where a large pro-Russian population lives. Russia, for its part, has criticized the protest movement and its new, pro-West leaders as being right-wing and nationalistic. Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the continent's watchdog, to condemn the rise of "nationalist and neo-fascist" sentiment that has emerged in Ukraine.
Lavrov cited, in particular, the attempts of Ukraine's new leadership to ban the Russian language in the country, restore Ukrainian as the obligatory language in official documents and turn the "Russian-speaking population into 'non-citizens.'
The Russian foreign minister later told his German counterpart, Steinmeier, he was concerned about the "hasty" passage of laws in Ukraine.
The escalation in Crimea came just days after clashes between security forces and protesters in Kyiv left at least 82 people dead. The incident prompted the German, French and Polish foreign ministers to broker a peace deal between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition, who had been calling for his resignation. On Saturday, Yanukovych left Kyiv after parliament voted him out of office. His whereabouts remain unknown. Ukrainian authorities have since issued an international Ukraine's parliament asks ICC to put former President Yanukovych on trial warrant for his arrest on charges of "mass murder.#"
kms/lw (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
DW.DE
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| The use of Russian language in Ukraine |
Polls
According to July 2012 polling by RATING 55% of the surveyed adult residents over 18 years of age believed that their native language is rather Ukrainian, 40% - rather Russian, 1% - another language.5% could not decide which language is their native one. Almost 80% of respondents stated they did not have any problems using their native language in 2011. 8% stated they had experienced difficulty in the execution (understanding) of official documents; mostly middle-aged and elderly people in South Ukraine and the Donets Basin.
According to a 2004 public opinion poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the number of people using Russian language in their homes considerably exceeds the number of those who declared Russian as their native language in the census. According to the survey, Russian is used at home by 43–46% of the population of the country (in other words a similar proportion to Ukrainian) and Russophonesmake a majority of the population in Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine:
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