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Mr Yanukovych (l) got the red carpet treatment in Brussels, but talks were "frank," Mr Barroso (r) said, in diplomatic code for spelling out some harsh truths (Photo: ec.europa.eu)

EU welcomes 'pragmatic' Ukrainian president

The EU has urged Ukraine's new leader, Viktor Yanukovych, to sort out the country's political and financial mess, while putting talk of EU accession on the back-burner.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels on Monday (1 March) said he was "delighted" that Mr Yanukovych chose to make the EU capital his first post-election foreign trip, ahead of a visit to Moscow at the end of the week.

"You are among friends of Ukraine," the commission chief said.

He ...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

Mr Yanukovych (l) got the red carpet treatment in Brussels, but talks were "frank," Mr Barroso (r) said, in diplomatic code for spelling out some harsh truths (Photo: ec.europa.eu)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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