August 19, 2008	Tuesday	Sha’aban 16, 1429

KIEV, Aug 18: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s office on Monday accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, his “Orange Revolution” ally, of betraying national interests by not backing Georgia in its conflict with Russia.

Yushchenko, who has strongly supported Georgia, was swept into power by protests against electoral fraud after defeating a Moscow-backed rival in 2004. He then embarked on a pro-western agenda, seeking membership of Nato and the European Union.

Yushchenko’s deputy chief of staff accused Tymoshenko of remaining silent to secure Moscow’s support during presidential elections in 2010. “Russia’s leaders are seriously considering supporting Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the presidential campaign once she ... fulfils the condition of adopting a passive position in the conflict with Georgia,” Andriy Kyslynsky said in a comment on the presidential website.

Tymoshenko became Yushchenko’s first prime minister but was sacked after seven months, only to become premier again last year when “orange” forces won a snap parliamentary election.

The president’s office was handing prosecutors documents about Tymoshenko’s “fully fledged work in the interests of the Russian side”, the statement added.

“The public has a right to know how far politicians will go beyond the boundary where political battles end and the betrayal of national interests begins.”—Reuters