SOTT EXCLUSIVE: Dancing around the question of Ukraine's federalization

© Reuters / Eric Vidal

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (R) welcomes Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko (L).

More calls are coming in to federalize Ukraine. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy jumped on the bandwagon with his 5-year political anniversary speech in Paris this week. As reported by RT:

Quoting "1,000 deaths" in the country since the cease-fire agreement was reached in Minsk on September 5, Van Rompuy said he could no longer call the situation a cease-fire. And a new cessation of conflict, if controlled by the same players, would have the identical outcome, the politician said in his speech, marking his five years presidency of the European Council.

Urging a "global solution," the EU chief said a way for Ukraine to become a "decentralized (or federalized) country" must be found. He called for the country's closer ties with the EU. However, he also said, "Europe has become unpopular among Europeans" in the past five to six years.

Kiev should "establish a correct relationship with Russia, its neighbor, with which it shares history, culture and language," Van Rompuy said, adding that the interests of minorities in Ukraine should be respected.

Sharing his EU "experiences and perspectives" with students at the Sciences Po institute of political studies in Paris, he pointed out that the current crisis in Ukraine is "the most grave geopolitical crisis we've experienced in Europe since the end of the Cold war." What makes it even worse, according to the Rompuy, is the fact that the "war" is happening on European soil.

Van Rompuy is not the first European politician to suggest Ukraine's federalization. Earlier in August, Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who is also the country's economy minister, spoke out for federalization to be introduced in Ukraine once the conflict in the east of the country is resolved.

The same measures to help settle the crisis in eastern Ukraine have been voiced by Moscow. However, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko keeps ruling out such political changes, saying the country's federalization is out of question.

But back in February, the BBC reported on Van Rompuy's statement at the Munich Security Conference:

"The future of Ukraine belongs with the EU".

© Reuters/Gleb Garanich

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk (R) welcomes former Prime Minister and newly elected parliamentary deputy Yulia Tymoshenko during the first session of a new Ukrainian parliament, elected in October, in Kiev, November 27, 2014.

Meanwhile back in Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko is certainly against federalization and decided to make a grand show that his government is fully behind him as reported by Reuters:

Ukraine's parliament approved Arseny Yatseniuk for a new term as prime minister on Thursday in a ceremony that countered reports of high-level disunity in a message to Russia over its backing of separatists in the country's east.

Pomp and emotion characterized the opening of Ukraine's first parliament since the February fall of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich as his successor, Petro Poronshenko, declared in a keynote speech that there could be no future formula for Ukraine other than that of a single, unified state.

More than two thirds of the deputies in the 450-seat parliament voted for Yatseniuk to stay as head of government, a post he has held since protests toppled Yanukovich, prompting Russia to annex Ukraine's Crimea region and back pro-Russian rebels in the east.

In a gesture aimed at deflecting impressions of damaging rivalry between him and Poroshenko which have also alarmed Western governments, Yatseniuk raised his hand to the president and declared to cheers: "Here is my hand for carrying out all that you have just said from this tribune.

"This is our joint responsibility," he added before striding over to Poroshenko and warmly embracing the president.

The display of unity was scripted in part for the eyes of Russia, which is backing Russian-speaking separatists in Ukraine's industrial heartland in a conflagration that has killed more than 4,300 people.

Political parties in favor of closer links to the European Union scored a resounding victory in a Oct. 26 election, handing Poroshenko a mandate to end the conflict and steer the ex-Soviet republic further out of Russia's orbit toward Europe.

But there have been reports of disputes between Poroshenko and Yatseniuk over the share-out of portfolios in the new government which may emerge next Tuesday.

Poroshenko said 100 percent of Ukrainians favored a unitary state without federalization, a political model that has been pushed by Russia but is seen by Kiev as a recipe for the country's dismemberment.

"These are our warm wishes to those in the East or West who advise federalization," Poroshenko said sarcastically.

But he said the reality was that Ukraine would always have "to sleep with a revolver under the pillow", an allusion to the perceived threat from Russia, which in turn sees Kiev's tilt toward the EU and NATO fold as menacing.

Poroshenko said support among Ukrainians for joining NATO had grown 3-4 fold this year and Ukraine's current non-aligned status no longer worked.

Oh really, Poroshenko? 100% of Ukrainians? Not according to this poll from the that claims:

Forty percent of Ukrainians stand for negotiations with the federalization supporters and 35 percent support the military crackdown, according to a poll conducted by the Rating sociological group and presented at a Wednesday press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

Even Kiev's admits:

Only 11 percent of Ukrainians favor country's federalization, less than 6 percent wish their region gain independence.

An amount of 46.7 percent of Ukrainian citizens polled by Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation spoke in favor of Ukraine as a unitary state, but only if decentralization of the power is carried and rights of the regions are enlarged.

How can Poroshenko be taken seriously? How can anyone be taken seriously when the people themselves have decided?

William Barbe

William joined the SOTT news team in 2014. A 30-year veteran of the semiconductor industry, in 2007 he began being interested and paying more attention to world events and living a healthier lifestyle. Hobbies and interests include hiking, photography and reading non-fiction books on history, economics, psychology, science, unexplained anomalies and politics.