Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his staff. I want to speak about the Ukraine because that country is of key importance to the region and to Europe. Should we be surprised by what has happened? The western media built up the association agreement as being on the verge of being signed, but we suddenly discovered there are other forces at play which have prevented the Ukraine from signing it at this point. Was the Minister not aware of the power of Russian diplomacy, in whatever guise it takes, in that region? For example, did he not consider it after Armenia became the first of the six countries to break with Europe in favour of the customs union? At the time, Armenia's decision was loudly proclaimed to be because of the diplomacy of Russia, which, to call a spade a spade, is fairly forceful when it is dealing with weaker neighbours, particularly around the issue of energy supply. Does the Minister accept that when Yanukovych cites national security considerations, he may have real grounds for concern? For example, he may be concerned the Ukraine's energy supply will be cut, which is the formula I think the Russians use in international diplomacy. If that happened, Yanukovych would have a serious problem.

I would like to convey the lonely position I hold. My view of the West's dealings with the Ukraine is that the West looks at it as though it is two states rather than one. We have heard the name Tymoshenko mentioned many times. She is in jail and we all agree she may be a political prisoner. This country was bankrupted by politicians. Tymoshenko did a deal on energy that was unsustainable. She is an oligarch and was allegedly corrupt and tried and sentenced by the Ukrainian system. I would like to see some of our former leaders, who bankrupted this country, being tried and, perhaps, interned.