KIEV: Ukraine’s rival leaders scared themselves into agreeing a compromise after a risky war of nerves for control of the security forces in this ex-Soviet republic, analysts said. But analysts also agreed that even though political feuding will likely continue in Ukraine, the chances of a repeat of the incidents witnessed in the past few days are virtually nil.
“There was a real threat of clashes that could have got out of control” and the sense of danger drove politicians towards a deal, Andry Yermolayev, an analyst at the Sofia Centre in Kiev, said.
“Everyone understood that it was impossible to use force and count on victory. On the contrary, it was possible to lose everything. This pushed them into agreeing,” Yermolayev said.
The political crisis in Ukraine began on April 2 when pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych defied orders from his pro-Western rival, President Viktor Yushchenko, to dissolve parliament and hold early elections.
The power struggle took an alarming new turn on Thursday when elite forces loyal to the government smashed their way into the prosecutor-general’s office and scuffled with a presidential security guard.
On Friday, the crisis escalated further after Yushchenko issued an order taking control of a 30,000-strong force of interior ministry troops away from the government.
The prime minister’s allies called the move “a coup attempt”. Finally on Saturday, a Yushchenko loyalist ordered thousands of interior ministry troops to head for Kiev to guard government buildings and protect public order.
Amid fears of violent clashes, police loyal to Yanukovych blocked the troops along highways leading to the capital. The operation to prevent soldiers reaching Kiev passed off peacefully.
Such incidents had not been seen in Ukraine since the Soviet collapse in 1991 and raised concern in the West as well as among Ukrainian officials, said political analyst Mikhailo Pogrebinsky.
“When the situation became too risky, they went into reverse,” he said.
Later on Saturday, Ukrainian security officials went out of their way to speak to journalists and to appear on television to urge calm and insist there would be no use of force.
After crisis talks, Yushchenko and Yanukovych announced a deal on Sunday to hold early elections and said in a joint statement that they would not use force or interfere in the work of courts and law-enforcement agencies.
Yushchenko then quickly sought to disassociate himself from the security tangle, saying he had never issued orders to deploy internal troops in the context of the crisis.
The president said the unarmed troops were only sent to Kiev to police a football match and city celebrations, contradicting a statement issued by the president's office on Saturday.—AFP
