On 21 November Yanukovych
succumbed to the pressure. To the
consternation of Europeans and proEU Ukrainians, Kyiv announced that
it was suspending its trade and
association talks with the EU. At the
Vilnius summit, Moldova and
Georgia signed up to EU Association
Agreements, while Yanukovych
defended his refusal to sign on the
grounds that the EU was not offering
adequate financial aid. Russia
25
On 1 July, President Evo Morales of
Bolivia, in Moscow for a conference,
suggested that he might consider a
request from Snowden for asylum.
The following day, Morales' return
flight to Bolivia was re-routed to
Austria and apparently searched, in
case Snowden was on board.
Morales blamed the US for this
extraordinary diplomatic incident.
The US successfully persuaded a
number of European countries to
reject Snowden‘s application for
asylum, enabling Russia to assume
the gallant role of whistleblowers‘
defender by offering Snowden
temporary asylum, on condition that
he agreed he would not further harm
US interests.
Page
the way to Ecuador. While he was en
route, the US revoked his passport (a
strategy the Soviet Union frequently
used, but rare in the post-Cold War
world), thereby stranding him in the
transit lounge of Sheremetyevo
international airport.
Ukraine
Russia‘s
policy
towards
Ukraine in 2013 was rather
less heroic. To discourage
President Viktor Yanukovych
from signing a Partnership
agreement with the EU at the
Eastern Partnership Summit in
Vilnius on 28-29 November,
Moscow first used economic
sanctions, and then offered Ukraine a
massive bribe. In July, following a
series of trade restrictions imposed
on Ukrainian goods ranging from
steel
pipes
to
cheese,
Russia banned imports
of
confectionery produced by Roshen,
allegedly because they contained
carcinogens.
Russian
customs
officials then blocked other Ukrainian
exports by introducing timeconsuming
and
expensive
inspections, ostensibly necessary
because Ukraine has not joined the
Russian-Belarusian-Kazakh Customs
Union.