Ukraine chief visits Moscow

MOSCOW — Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, visiting here the day after his inauguration, said Monday that he believed he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had overcome the strains caused by the Kremlin’s open backing of his opponent. But Yushchenko also signaled that he would follow through on pledges of radical reform that have discomfited some in Russia’s establishment.

“What occurred before the elections were mere episodes, and this issue is no longer on the agenda,” Yushchenko said at a news conference after meeting Putin. “We assume and will continue to assume that Russia is our eternal strategic ally.”

The Ukrainian leader balanced his conciliatory words with a warning that his policies, including relations with Russia, would be determined by his country’s national interest rather than what he called the “byzantine” politics of the past. The Kremlin has often regarded Ukraine as a little brother.

Yushchenko, 50, emphasized his defiant stance earlier Monday by appointing Yulia Tymoshenko as acting Prime Minister. Tymoshenko is a blunt, charismatic and often divisive figure who served as energy minister when Yushchenko was prime minister from 1999 to 2001.

Among other Russian goals, Yushchenko declined to endorse Putin’s aim of establishing a “Single Economic Space” combining Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Yushchenko’s allies regard this proposed entity as a Kremlin attempt to re-assert Russia’s sway over post-Soviet countries.

“We are led by two principles: the first is that any (economic treaty) should answer Ukraine’s national interest,” he said. “The second principle is that any document should not block Ukraine’s road to other markets.” Yushchenko has said that Ukraine’s entry into the European Union is the principal goal of his government.

At the Kremlin, Yushchenko was greeted warmly by a smiling Putin.