The visa-free travel with the EU cannot be a strategic objective of Ukraine’s foreign policy, as this topic concerns only 4% of our citizens. Today the most important thing for all of us, regardless of political views, is to find the courage to unite on the level of elites, not only on inter-party level.   The Minsk agreements are Ukraine’s commitments signed by the President, and they need to be fulfilled. The war in Donbas and the catastrophic situation in the economy are the result of the current government’s work. MP Serhiy Lovochkin (OPPOSITION BLOC) discussed this and other topics in his interview with Segodnya.ua, the first part of which was published on the edition website. 

“When someone tries to make the visa-free regime one of the main foreign policy objectives, he is making a mistake. To begin with, it is a visa-free regime with EU member states only, not with the entire world. Besides, this issue concerns not more than 4% of people in the country, who are already able to travel abroad.   And it is possible that the procedure for obtaining permission to enter the EU at the border control will be more complex comparing to obtaining a visa here in the embassies of the EU countries,” Serhiy Lovochkin said.

According to him, the visa-free regime is not a valid target in terms of the state development, and will not improve the lives of 96% of Ukrainians. “This is no integration into the European Union, this does not open up additional opportunities to get a job or a salary raise. When they sell it to us as some target or as a signal that we are treated well by the EU, this is nonsense,” the MP said.

Speaking about his vision of Ukraine’s development, Serhiy Lovochkin stressed that his priority was to support the consolidation of elites. “I believe that today the most important thing for all of us, regardless of our political views, is to find the courage to unite on the level of elites, not only on inter-party level. We need to form demands for the government and for the opposition: how the state should develop, how the problem of peace should be solved, what the future development path for Ukraine will be. These issues and this process are what is on the front burner for me now,” the MP stressed.

He also commented on the situation with the failure to implement the Minsk agreements. “The basic position of the "People's Front" - there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements, and they need to be fulfilled. The President signed those documents on behalf of Ukraine, and they became our state’s commitments. We are not offered a defeat. Our Western partners offer us peace and development, which is going to follow as a consequence of this peace. It is clear that peace in Donbas will cost someone their approval rating. Because earlier these people were gaining political capital and votes using the military rhetoric. This is how members of the current coalition won the majority in parliament and earned their political capital. Now it is time to fork it out and pay the price to bring a better life to the people, to bring peace to the [occupied] territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, so that the entire Ukraine may shed the burden of war. Because for this war Ukraine pays with people’s lives, every Ukrainian taxpayer pays for it now,” he said.

According to the policy maker, now those people in the country who are part of the government, bear the responsibility with the President for the state of affairs in the nation, torpedo the Minsk agreements. “I think that it is a betrayal on their part, not only of the President, I believe that they are discrediting the state of Ukraine. They need to bear responsibility for this,” he said.

Serhiy Lovochkin also added that the war in Donbas and the catastrophic situation in the economy are the result of the current government’s work. “The Ptukha Institute of Demography and Social Studies published a survey, which showed that 58.3% of Ukrainians live below the actual cost of living. First of all, it includes families with two children and pensioners. This is the result of the current government’s work. The living standards of Ukrainians are deteriorating. The war continues in Ukraine. Ukraine does not develop normally, it is not attractive for investors. We see rampant corruption, life becomes more expensive, absolutely all prices are rising - from utility tariffs to food, clothing and medicines,” the MP said.

Recall, on October 17 the first part of Lovochkin’s interview with Segodnya.ua was published: “Some members of the coalition do not like the things they see on Inter.”  In this interview the policy maker said that the current government took no action to ensure effective investigation into the attack on the Inter Channel, as they were well aware who the attackers were, and they knew that these people were close to the Interior Ministry leadership. He also informed that the lawyers working with Inter were documenting the crime themselves and collecting testimonies. He also noted that “we expect a report from the Prosecutor General on the implementation of the President’s instruction regarding the investigation into the arson.”

Recall, according to the poll conducted by the Sophia Center for Social Studies between August 26 and September 5, the unresolved issue of the visa-free travel with the EU concerned only 3.9% of respondents.