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Ukraine`s cooperation with Belarus would be high on Viktor Yanukovych’s agenda, close ally says

Cooperation with Belarus will be among Viktor Yanukovych’s top foreign policy priorities if he is elected president of Ukraine, Hanna Herman, deputy chair of Mr. Yanukovych`s Party of Regions, said in an interview with BelaPAN.

“It is very important that your country has managed to maintain economic growth and those significant processes that Ukraine has wasted during the last five years,” Ms. Herman said. “They used to say that there is Lukashenka and no freedom [in Belarus], whereas they would make Ukraine free. But what have we achieved? In Ukraine, we now view Belarus as a good example of how to govern a country, take care of its people and cherish the country’s independence. And Viktor Fyodorovych [Yanukovych] has repeatedly underlined this.”

“I think that our ties will grow yet closer, economic cooperation will be developing more intensively and we will again become good friends as we used to be previously,” she said.

Ms. Herman criticized incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko for “understanding late that Belarus matters much, along with its experience.” “We have always remembered this and this is what distinguishes us from Yushchenko,” she said. “We have always remembered that it is important to maintain relations with countries with which we once were in one state. It is economically beneficial as well. There are longstanding bonds between us. Things should be modernized and put to use today. One shouldn`t be guided by some complexes or post-Soviet fears.”

As for the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program that involves Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, Ms. Herman said that the EU should not look down on Ukraine but treat it as an equal partner. “If we are serious partners, a serious European integration should be taking place,” she said.

The politician accused Mr. Yushchenko of being a “poor and indecisive mediator” between Brussels and Minsk. “He was forced to play this role,” she said. “If he had taken the role on his own, he could have been a good mediator, a good bridge. But I think that Minsk is capable of talking to any capital city on its own. Belarus is a normal country that develops well and I think that Minsk can talk to Warsaw and Moscow and Brussels and Washington.”

When asked as to whether Mr. Yanukovych could act as a successful mediator, she said: “We will be helping each other, but it seems to me that it is disgraceful to look at Minsk as if it were a capital that needs a mediator or interpreter in talks with others. I believe that the West should change its attitude toward Minsk.”