Ex-Ukrainian Foreign Minister Believes New Law On Oligarchs To Alienate Kiev From EU, NATO

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2021) A law limiting the power of oligarchs adopted by the parliament of Ukraine is insufficient and will alienate Kiev from the European Union and NATO, the former head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Pavlo Klimkin, said on Thursday.

"The adoption of the 'anti-oligarchic' law alienates us from the EU and NATO, and quite significantly. I am all for limiting the influence of the oligarchs. We are not the first to fight them. The Americans adopted the Sherman Act at the end of the 19th century. And it was aimed at eliminating the monopolies of barons. Such a decision, of course, could not have been made without the American judicial system," Klimkin wrote on his Facebook page.

However, according to Klimkin, the law adopted on Thursday does not introduce anything from the civilized arsenal of limiting the influence of oligarchs: neither improving the judicial system, nor fighting corruption, nor effective work of regulatory bodies. In his opinion, the law does not work for Ukraine's foreign policy and European aspirations.

"It may work for domestic (policy): with regard to control over the mass media or fixing games with the oligarchs. And this flip side of the law will soon become quite obvious: both at home and for our Western partners. That is, the meaning of this law is to handcuff a significant part of domestic policy, putting, so to speak, the handbrake on. And this will also alienate us from the EU and NATO, which want to see systemic changes in Ukraine," the ex-minister said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill on oligarchs, proposed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, under which a special register would be created. Those defined as oligarchs would be forbidden from financing political parties or involvement in the privatization of public assets, and top officials will have to declare any deals with persons designated as such.