Smoke bombs thrown in Ukraine Parliament in protest over Russian treaty
(Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
The Speaker Volodymr Lytvyn is forced to take cover under an umbrella as eggs are thrown
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Tony Halpin, Moscow
Ukraine’s Parliament descended into chaos today as smoke bombs were set off and eggs thrown at the Speaker in opposition protests against a new treaty with Russia.
Clouds of smoke filled the chamber and deputies fought each other in the aisles ahead of a critical vote to ratify an agreement allowing Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to remain in Ukraine until the middle of the century.
The Speaker, Volodymr Lytvyn, was forced to hide under two black umbrellas held up by aides as opposition deputies hurled eggs at him in a bid to disrupt the proceedings. Alarms went off when two smoke bombs were thrown, but deputies continued to debate the treaty even as the chamber filled with fumes.
Despite the protests, 236 deputies in the 450-seat Rada voted to ratify the treaty, allowing Russia to retain its naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea for up to 30 years after its current lease expires in 2017. The deal was signed by Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych during a visit by his Kremlin counterpart Dmitri Medvedev to Kharkiv last week.
Opposition parties led by the defeated presidential candidate Yuliya Tymoshenko denounced the agreement as a sell-out of Ukraine’s sovereignty. They unfurled a huge Ukrainian flag in the chamber and some deputies screamed “shame, shame!” as the treaty was passed.
“Today will go down as a black page in the history of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Parliament,” Mrs Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister said.
Up to 10,000 protestors massed outside the parliament in Kiev, with pro-western opponents of the treaty shouting “death to traitors” as the controversy threatened to trigger fresh political confrontation in Ukraine’s divided society. Thousands of supporters of Mr Yanukovych’s Party of Regions also turned out at a rally carrying banners describing Ukraine and Russia as “strategic partners”.
Russia has promised to sell gas to Ukraine at a 30 per cent discount in return for being allowed to retain the base. Mr Yanukovych estimated last week that this would be worth $40 billion (£26.7bn) to Ukraine’s struggling economy over the next decade.
Mrs Tymoshenko and Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yushchenko have denounced the treaty as a betrayal of national interests. Mr Yushchenko, who came to power in the 2004 Orange revolution, had insisted that the fleet must leave Ukraine when the present lease expired.
“If society today turns a blind eye to the Kharkiv agreement, it is possible that it will be the biggest loss to our sovereignty and independence,” he warned ahead of today’s vote.
Mr Medvedev broke off relations with Mr Yushchenko last year, accusing him of being “anti-Russian”. But he has moved swiflty to cement relations with Mr Yanukovych, meeting him five times since Ukraine’s new president took office in February.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Prime Minister, was also in Kiev today for talks with Mr Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. He offered an unprecedented deal to create a joint holding company to work on projects for nuclear power generation.
He told reporters that the gas deal would be a financial “burden” for Russia, adding: “The amount that this has cost us is really something else. For this kind of money I could have eaten Yanukovych and your Prime Minister together.”
Russia’s parliament, the Duma, also ratified the treaty today in a parallel session to the one in Kiev, by a vote of 410 to zero in favour. Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said: "The Black Sea fleet acts as a guarantor of security both in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea. The agreement offers us serious opportunities to promote further military and military-technical cooperation between the armed forces of Ukraine and Russia.”
The Black Sea fleet has been based in Sevastopol since the 18th Century but its future was cast into doubt after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ukraine and Russia agreed a 20-year lease in 1997.
Tensions have escalated over Crimea, with some senior politicians in Moscow arguing that they should reclaim the territory. It was transferred to Ukraine from Russia by the Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev in 1954.
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