Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the “Other Ukraine” movement and a former senior figure in Ukraine’s now-banned Opposition Platform-For Life party, asserts that Europe is no longer capable of serving as a diplomatic channel with Russia.
In a Jan. 18 interview with Russia’s TASS news agency, Medvedchuk argued that European leadership has become too weak to even organize talks, let alone negotiate an agreement. He said Europe had no true concern for Ukraine’s long-term future, claiming the country is being used primarily as a tool in confrontation with Russia. “Ukraine is also simply not needed by Europe except as a battering ram against Russia,” he said.
He also called for the creation of a temporary administration that would restore fair and democratic elections and restore citizens’ religious and political liberties. This administration could also create conditions for the restoration of territories and for attracting financial resources for this purpose by establishing a free economic zone, reported TASS.
He said the only viable mechanism for elections that would be widely recognized as legitimate would involve a UN Security Council-backed “temporary administration,” presented as a peacekeeping-style model under the UN Charter.
“For the purpose of restoring constitutional order, reestablishing the rule of law, and organizing and conducting fair democratic elections in accordance with Articles 39 and 41 of the UN Charter, the UN Security Council may introduce external governance by establishing a Temporary Administration under the auspices of the United Nations,” said Medvedchuk.
“Without a temporary administration, it is impossible to hold fair and democratic elections for the president of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and local self-government bodies, or to form new legitimate institutions of state power,” he said. “And without this, it is impossible to restore the rule of law and ensure public order in the country.”
In February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law and banned several political parties, including the Opposition Platform-For Life. Medvedchuk was arrested in April 2022 on charges of treason. In September he was part of a prisoner exchange with Russia, where he now lives in exile.
