Ukraine refused to support the independence of South Ossetia and Abkahzia, and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the Moscow’s move “an adventurous decision”. The official Party of Regions supported the decision of Russia, and party front-runner Victor Yanukovych called on to follow Russia’s example.
However, not all members of the Party of Regions of Ukraine share the stance of their leader.
“I believe that we, as well as in Kosovo case, should strictly follow the mechanism of announcing independence of states, which is determined by the international law. In this case, this mechanism was absolutely neglected, so in case we cannot recognize the independence of South Ossetia or Abkhazia”, Taras Chornovil, top deputy leader of the parliamentary committee for foreign affairs and one of the Party of Regions leaders, claimed to journalists. He also believes that with recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkahzia “we will open the problem of Crimea and Prydnistrovya”.
