According
to Euronews, the EU has said it will not engage in a bidding war with Russia over Ukraine. Moscow pledged 11 billion Euros of aid to the
cash-strapped former Soviet state after the Ukrainian government pulled out an
EU trade deal in November.
European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso told reporters: “We are not going to a bidding competition to
say who pays more for a signature of Ukraine.”
Barroso’s statement came amid reports
that Brussels and Washington may be poised to put forward some form of aid
package to cash-strapped Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton is expected in Kyiv on Tuesday for talks with government and opposition
leaders.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid
Kozhara has indicated that the government is open to some reform: “We can
discuss some changes in the form of administration, and President Yanukovych
confirmed that he is ready to discuss those, like changing a form of the
administration from the presidential republic to a parliamentary-presidential
one.”
