The Chocolate King was crowned President of Vienna

June 9, 2014   

In light of his victory in the elections held two weeks ago on May 25, when the majority of the votes of -55% voters voted for him, Petro Poroshenko was crowned President of Ukraine last night. The presidential elections were held after, following angry demonstrations that broke out in Kiev, the government was dismissed and President Viktor Yanukovych, who preferred the pro-Russian line, strengthened ties with Russia over Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Since Yanukovych's ouster, Ukraine has been in acute tension and suffering from instability, with Russia annexing the Crimean peninsula. The annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia was legally possible after the local government there declared independence and secession from Ukraine. When this step led to extremely acute tensions in Russia's relations with the West, a severity similar to that which existed during the Cold War. Russia also condemned Yanukovych's ouster and accused Ukrainian authorities of exacerbating the crisis in the east by using military force instead of opening a dialogue with the separatists. Despite calls for peace, since his election, Ukrainian forces in the east of the country have actually been reinforced and the army has begun an intensive operation against the separatists in eastern Ukraine. The rebels, who want to separate from Kiev and become part of Russia, are responding with war. Parts of eastern Ukraine have become a war zone. On Friday, the separatists even shot down a transport plane near the town of Sloviansk, killing a soldier from the Ukrainian army's special forces. Residents in the area reported bombings that continued throughout the day, killing dozens of pro-Russian separatists. At the same time last Friday, Poroshenko had a brief initial meeting with Putin in France, where they both attended events marking the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. French officials said the two shook hands and agreed that ceasefire talks should begin within a few days. פוטין ומקבילו האוקראיני סיכמו על שיחות רשמיות ומקיפות יותר במטרה להביא להפסקת אש במזרח אוקראינה, וכן אישרו כי נדרש פתרון דיפלומטי להפחתת המתיחות. דוברו של נשיא רוסיה תיאר את השיחה כלבבית וקצרה, ואמר שלא נקבעה עדיין פגישה עתידית, לדבריו מדובר בצעד צנוע, אבל חיובי". גורם רשמי בצרפת ציין כי השניים דנו גם בהכרה רוסית בבחירתו של פורושנקו. זאת, לאחר שמוסקבה לא הסתירה את עמדתה כי הנשיא הלגיטימי הוא ויקטור ינוקוביץ'. אולם למרות זאת במקביל, פוטין התייחס לפני כשבועיים לבחירות במדינה השכנה ואמר כי "אנו מבינים שהעם האוקראיני רוצה שארצו תצא מהמשבר שבו היא נתונה ונכבד את תוצאות הבחירות". בנאום ההשבעה, שנערך בשבת בבניין הפרלמנט בקייב בנוכחות נציגים מרחבי העולם, בהם סגן נשיא ארה"ב ג'ו ביידן, הבטיח פורושנקו לפתוח בדיאלוג עם האזרחים במזרח המדינה, אך לא עם המורדים החמושים. "לא נדבר עם גנגסטרים ורוצחים", אמר. גם שגריר רוסיה במדינה השתתף בו למרות המשבר בין המדינות, מה שעשוי לאותת על הפשרה מסוימת ביחסים בין שתי המדינות.הציע חסינות פוליטית לאלה "שאין דם על ידיהם", דברים שנראה כי כוונו הן לבדלנים והן לקבוצות הלאומיות המתנגדות להם.  פורשנקו הטיל את האחריות למשבר על כתפיו של נשיא רוסיה, ולדימיר פוטין, האשמות אותם דוחים בקרמלין מכל וכל. In his inauguration speech, the president said: "I pledge with all my might to defend the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine." In response to voices that feared his meeting the day before the inauguration with the Russian president, Poroshenko said: He made it clear to Putin that he did not accept the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and that the conflict over the Crimean Peninsula was not over yet - "Crimea is, was and will be a part of Ukraine and will remain under Ukrainian sovereignty. There will be no negotiations on the issue.".  The president also announced in his speech that he intends to soon sign an economic agreement with the European Union, as a first step towards full membership in the union. At the inauguration ceremony, held in parliament, Poroshenko made it clear that among his first moves would be to promote Ukraine's accession to the European Union, in accordance with his promise in his election platform to move closer to Europe, with the first step in the process being the signing of the Economic Cooperation Agreement with the European Union, the suspension of which was the trigger for the outbreak of protests against the ousted president. In his speech, he laid out a plan to end the crisis, which included a proposal for early local elections in the east of the country, and the transfer of more powers to local governments. "I do not want war. I do not want revenge, despite the enormous sacrifice of the Ukrainian people.". Meanwhile, Russia continues to strongly deny accusations by Kiev and Western governments that it is complicit in supporting the rebels. Putin told reporters yesterday that he welcomed Poroshenko's proposals to end the conflict, but he refused to say what they were, adding that Ukraine must end what he called the military's "punitive actions" against pro-Russian separatists. The two countries are also at odds over Russian gas prices, with Moscow threatening to cut gas supplies as early as next week if Ukraine does not repay the financial debt it owes it.