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Poroshenko before 'Maidan' asked Yanukovich to let him become Kiev mayor, ex-lawmaker says

According to Poroshenko's former associate, Yanukovich turned Poroshenko down because he didn’t trust him

Former President of Ukraine Pyotr Poroshenko Anna Marchenko/TASS

Former President of Ukraine Pyotr Poroshenko

© Anna Marchenko/TASS

KIEV, July 27. /TASS/. Former lawmaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada David Zhvania stated that in 2012-2013 Poroshenko asked Viktor Yanukovich, then Ukraine’s president, for permission to run for the post of mayor of Kiev. Zhvania made this statement in his new YouTube address.

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"In 2012-2013, before the 'Maidan,' Pyotr Poroshenko really wanted to become the mayor of Kiev. And he not only wanted it, but he also attempted to obtain a go-ahead from Viktor Yanukovich. He wanted Yanukovich to make him first head of Kiev’s city state administration and then to allow him to stand for election," Zhvania said.

The politician insists that with this goal in mind Poroshenko was talking to Yanukovich’s retinue. "He was sitting humbly in the waiting rooms of [Sergey] Levochkin [former head of the presidential administration in 2010-2014 - TASS] and [Andrey] Klyuev [former head of the presidential administration in 2014 - TASS]. He promised them to be a loyal soldier of Yanukovich and fulfill all orders from the presidential administration, if only he gets Kiev," he added. The former lawmaker also said that he "personally helped Poroshenko to conduct talks on this subject with the leadership of the Party of Regions." However, according to Zhvania, Yanukovich turned Poroshenko down because he simply didn’t trust him. "Although Poroshenko was very upset, he agreed with Yanukovich’s decision. He bore a grudge and waited for his chance. He got his chance as early as in November. The rest you know," the politician said.

Earlier, the former lawmaker and Poroshenko’s closest associate addressed Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova, claiming that he is ready to testify against himself and other politicians involved in the 2014 coup on condition that his safety is guaranteed, saying that he is scared that Poroshenko may order his assassination.

In the first video posted on YouTube on July 22, the former lawmaker claimed that Poroshenko bribed a EU official to support him in the 2014 presidential election.

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