KIEV, February 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine’s former President Leonid Kuchma (in office from July 1994 through January 2005) has called on the authorities and the country’s irreconcilable opposition to resume dialogue immediately.
“I am appealing to government and to the opposition likewise, since the destiny of Ukraine depends entirely on you now, and whether or not this civil conflict grows over into a full-blown civil war and the rift that has pushed the various regions of the country apart turns into an unsurpassable abyss is hinged on your awareness of the looming threats,” Kuchma said.
“Not a single truly national force in Ukraine can be interested in what is happening now, and so please stop!” he said. “I urge all the parties to resume dialogue immediately and I am prepared to put my best efforts into it, anything that I could possible do.”
Kuchma confessed that the ongoing developments in Ukraine resembled a nightmarish dream.
“I stood at the helm of the country for more than ten years and I went through numerous actions of protest and I would even think of a scenario like this one back then, to say nothing of letting it happen,” he said.
“Ukraine isn’t awash either with crude oil or with natural gas and public peace and ethnic concord have always constituted our main wealth,” Kuchma said.