Conflict in a glass

Why is the head of the Odessa region cursing with the Ukrainian government

The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov threw a glass of water at the head of the Odessa region Mikhail Saakashvili. This happened at a meeting of the National Council of Reforms in the presence of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. As can be seen from the record , the incident was preceded by an exchange of insults: Saakashvili called Avakov a thief, and he advised the Odessa governor (and the former Georgian president) to “get out of the country”. The skirmish became the next manifestation of a long -standing conflict, but not so much between Avakov and Saakashvili, but between the teams of the President of Ukraine and the local government. At the request of Medusa, Kiev journalist Ekaterina Sergaskova tells about their disagreements at the request of Medusa.

A reason for a quarrel

At a meeting of the National Council of Reforms ( an advisory body under the President of Ukraine) Mikhail Saakashvili, in particular, spoke about the situation around the Odessa Porter Plant. The company specializes in the production and overload of chemical products - ammonia, urea, nitrogen fertilizers. The plant belongs to the state, but is in terms of privatization for 2016.

On July 7, 2015, Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs was opened a criminal case against Ostchem (part of the Group DF of Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash) on the sale of natural gas at the Odessa Porter Plant at an overestimated price. According to investigators, Ostchem intended to bring the plant to bankruptcy.

Mikhail Saakashvili announced some time ago that he had revealed the schemes with which people close to Yatsenyuk earned at the Odessa factory. In particular, in this way, the deputies from the Yatsenyuk party “People’s Front” Nikolai Martynenko and Sergey Pashinsky allegedly stole $ 93 million. Saakashvili intervention allowed to prevent further fraud. According to the Odessa Governor, the Prime Minister himself was related to theft, according to the Odessa governor.

True, Saakashvili was immediately accused of criticizing Yatsenyuk, he is silent that Alexander Granovsky, a businessman from the environment of Igor Kononenko (Kononenko, is involved in the first deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko) entourage. All the accusations were that Kononenko rejected Kononenko unprofitable for the state at the Odessa port plant.

Long -standing scores

The conflict between the team of the President of Ukraine (to which Saakashvili belongs) and the government team has long been matured. It was obvious on December 6 - during the Anti -Corruption Platform forum organized by the Odessa governor. At the forum, Mikhail Saakashvili showed a presentation in which Yatsenyuk put up the chief corrupt official of Ukraine, and demonstrated the scheme according to which oligarchs and politicians steal five billion dollars a year from the country's budget.

“Misha has always been very good about this government,” the former deputy minister of Ukraine Sasha Borovik said in an interview with Medusa. According to him, Saakashvili with his Georgian team at the beginning of the spring of 2015 came to the leadership of the Ministry of Economics and said that it was necessary to carry out quick reforms - and that he did not agree with the plan prepared by the department. Soon, Borovik left the ministry, because he was also dissatisfied with his policy. Saakashvili was the first to call Borovik an offer to work in his team - since then, Borovik has been listed as an adviser to the Odessa governor.

“Misha initially said that the Cabinet does not do what he should,” says Borovik. - When he was appointed the governor, Yatsenyuk was very slowing us down. We recruited 26 chapters of administrations through the competition, these are people with education from Cambridge and the London School of Economics. We brought them to approval to Kyiv from Odessa, but they did not accept them, and they left back, and so several times. There was a case when we promised money to build a road from customs in Kiev, but Misha got into the car, drove to Odessa, but for now he was driving, they called him and said that we were taken away from energy customs, and this is one third of all the money. Such sabotage heated the temperature. "

It is generally accepted that the President of Ukraine hired Saakashvili on the basis of a full carte blanch. However, Borovik claims, in fact there was no card blanch, and Poroshenko supports far from all the initiatives of the former Georgian president.

“Misha talks to the president at least once a day,” says Borovik. - But this does not mean that he [Poroshenko] approves everything that we do. He just does not sabotage us, communications are open with him. And with Yatsenyuk we never had communication. ”

The incident with Avakov, believes the adviser Saakashvili, only says that the minister "stood up for his boss." According to him, despite the fact that the representatives of the Popular Front Yatsenyuk “different streams and fraud”, they “politically roof each other”.

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After the conflict on December 16, Arsen Avakov and Mikhail Saakashvili made explanatory statements, each on their own Facebook.

The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine tried to explain his emotional act: they say, so as not to arrange a real fight due to insults, he chose to splash the opponent in the face of water.

Saakashvili in his post again called Avakov and Yatsenyuk thieves. “I’m sorry that I had to call Prime Minister the thief, but even more regret that this is true,” wrote Saakashvili. -I used the word “thieves” in relation to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs and I do not refuse these words. I love Ukraine, and we will save our country from thieves and crooks. ”

One of the main Ukrainian political strategists Taraz Berezovets believes that the cause of the conflict lies in the aggravation of the struggle for political influence and access to the resources of Ukraine. Saakashvili, claims birch, expects to create a new political force in the country, which can compete with the largest Ukrainian politicians.

“Surely a decision will be made on early elections, as the crisis will grow into a parliamentary one,” writes Berezovets. - Most likely, tomorrow in the Verkhovna Rada we will see the continuation of the scandal. Naturally, a resolution was issued on the dismissal of Arsen Avakov from his post. It will not gain the right number of votes, but will give a reason to criticize it again. ”

According to Berezovts, there is every reason to believe that Saakashvili is preparing his own political project - a conditional “anti -corruption platform”. In early elections, such a project can count on the support of 10% of the population.

“It will be better for Saakashvili if the elections pass in the near future, for example, in the spring,” concludes Berezovets.

Ekaterina Sergaskova

Kyiv