Paul
Goble
Staunton, September 15 – In a change
of tactics reflecting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement on
Saturday that Russia wants to have a “neutral” Ukraine rather than to create
another Transdniestria lest that further alienate the rest of Ukraine, Moscow
will back the participation of the Donbas in the October 26 Ukrainian
elections.
Under a plan reportedly being
overseen by Putin advisor Vladislav Surkov, Moscow will back the so-called “Opposition
Bloc” in these elections to gain more influence over Kyiv’s future policies rather
than support those who want a boycott (news.liga.net/news/politics/3291852-kreml_menyaet_taktiku_na_parlamentskikh_vyborakh_v_ukraine.htm?fb_action_ids=10152475324312639&fb_action_types=og.recommends).
This bloc, the Ukrainian news agency
Liga points out, has a better chance of winning seats than does the Party of
the Regions which polls suggest would not exceed the five-percent barrier in a
part of Ukraine it dominated earlier if it chose to run. That is probably why, the agency says, that
party and Moscow have decided on a different strategy.
There are some 20 majoritarian
parliamentary electoral districts in areas controlled by Russian forces and
pro-Moscow militants, and if this plan goes forward, the Russian side almost
certainly could guarantee that a majority or even all of these would vote for
pro-Moscow candidates.
No comments:
Post a Comment