The Crisis Background of Ukrainian Crisis

At the end of 20 13, Yanukovych refused to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union, which triggered a political crisis in Ukraine. The opposition launched a large-scale demonstration, demanding that Yanukovych step down and hold an early general election.

2013165438+122 October, about 3,000 people gathered in the Independence Square in the center of Kiev in the rain, waving the EU flag and some slogans to protest against the government's abandonment of the signing of the associated country agreement with the EU.

After years of negotiations, this agreement allows Ukraine to join the free trade zone with the EU as the main body and including non-euro countries such as Norway, which is a milestone in Ukraine's application to join the EU. The two sides initialled the agreement, which was originally scheduled to be formally signed at the EU summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on the 29th.

The EU has previously made Ukraine's release of former Prime Minister Tymoshenko one of the conditions for signing the contact country agreement. However, the Ukrainian parliament once again rejected the proposal to allow Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment with a vote of 2 1.

The pro-western politician who launched the "orange revolution" and was imprisoned for abusing his power issued a statement through his lawyer on the 22nd, calling on people to take to the streets to protest against the sudden change of the government's position on the issue of joining the WTO.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov defended the government's abandonment of the contact country agreement on the 22nd: "This is a difficult decision, but judging from the current domestic economic situation, it is the only feasible way". At present, the government's finances are tight, and it must pay Russia more than 654.38+0.7 billion dollars in natural gas costs, and repay 3.7 billion dollars in debts to the International Monetary Fund and other parties.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian President Yanukovych on March 9, he made it clear that if Ukraine signed the contact country agreement, it would "immediately lose a lot, and Russia would restrict the import of Ukrainian goods"; On the contrary, if Ukraine joins the Russian-led customs union, it will "get immediate benefits, including preferential natural gas prices."

According to the data released by Concord Capital, a Ukrainian investment company, in the first nine months of 20 13 years, Ukraine's exports to the EU were 146 billion US dollars, and those to Russia were 2 1 1 billion US dollars. Since the beginning of 20 13, the trade volume between Ukraine and Russia has been greatly reduced, and Ukraine's economy has suffered heavy losses. Azarov said that Ukraine could not afford to lose trade with Russia.