Moscow “approves” Groysman’s candidature as Ukraine’s next prime minister

Possible appointment of Volodymyr Groysman, the speaker of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, as prime minister will not have any negative impact on the Russian-Ukrainian relations, says Alexey Pushkov, the head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Groysman will hardly go beyond general political logic in Kiev. Generally, it appears to me that this replacement is at least not negative for the prospects of the Russian-Ukrainian relations,” Pushkov said.

“I think this replacement either will be neutral from the viewpoint of the Kiev-Moscow relations, or will, for instance, remove some annoying moments, specifically, Yatsenyuk’s deliberate policy of breaking all possible ties with Russia,” Pushkov said.

He recalled that Groysman refrains from any tough anti-Russian statements. “This will be a pragmatic prime minister who will try to avoid Ysatenyuk’s policy,” Pushkov said.

At the same time, he said, Groysman will hardly be an independent political figure with an independent stand and role in Ukraine’s policy. Groysman is in Poroshenko’s team, he said.

As EADaily reported earlier, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and People’s Front Party faction have been negotiating for the nomination of the next prime minister and for the new government and parliamentary coalition of Ukraine without any progress for a second day already. President Petro Poroshenko said he would have to dissolve the Supreme Rada and announce parliamentary elections, unless the sides arrive at a consensus by 6:00pm today.