Ukraine drops plan to go West, turns East

Ukraine's government announced it was suspending preparations for a landmark trade pact with the European Union on Thursday and said it would renew active dialogue with Russia to help its economy.
   
A dramatic diplomatic turnaround, the government order came just eight days before President Viktor Yanukovich was due to sign an agreement on trade and cooperation with the EU which would mark a pivotal shift westwards for the ex-Soviet republic's 46 million people, away from historic ally Moscow.
   
The order issued by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the government was suspending preparations for concluding the agreement with the EU "with the aim of adopting measures to ensure national security". Ukraine has been concerned that a punitive Russian trade response could hurt its economy.
   
The order added that Kiev would "renew active dialogue" with Russia, other members of a Moscow-led customs union and the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of former republics of the Soviet Union.
   
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reacted by saying the European Union was still interested in a deal with Ukraine but that it was up to Kiev if it wanted to take the offer up.
   
A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said Moscow welcomed Ukraine's desire to develop ties with Russia.
   
Earlier in the day, Ukraine's parliament rejected draft laws that would let jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko go to Germany for medical treatment - something EU leaders had pressed Yanukovich to permit before they would sign the pact.
   
Ukrainians have been divided on the merits of an EU deal, notably since Putin made clear that Moscow might retaliate against what it sees as a betrayal by its historic partner by cutting vital gas flows as it has done in previous "gas wars".
  
Opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk, an ally of Tymoshenko, responded to the government order by saying that a failure by Yanukovich to sign the EU deal would be tantamount to "treason" and provide grounds for the president's impeachment.
   

 
REUTERS