March 5 Moscow visit is acid test for Yanukovych patriotism

According to the expert, Viktor Yanukovych has earlier made two declarations which contradict Ukraine’s national interests – about the need for an international consortium to run the country’s gas pipelines and about the neutral status for Ukraine.
The first declaration amounts to a transfer of pipelines to Russia’s ownership. While insisting on a neutral status for Ukraine will limit the country’s sovereignty and ability to maneuver in pursuing foreign policy goals – all without any guarantees of Ukraine security.
 “If we see that Yanukovych acts on his declarations in Moscow, we will know that we have  elected a puppet president,” the expert says. 
Another acid test for Yanukovych’s loyalty to Ukraine, Oleksandr Palij continues, will be the appointments he will make in the wake of his visit to Moscow. The president, in line with the Ukrainian constitution, can appoint a defense and foreign minister and a head of the security service. “Judging by his appointments we will know if Yanukovych minds what is being told him in Moscow,” Palij sums up.