Ukrainian premier, former Kremlin critic, pledges better ties to Russia if she wins presidency

Ukraine’s Tymoshenko seeks better ties to Russia

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, in a major appeal to voters before Sunday’s ballot, said she will restore harmonious relations with Russia if she is elected president.

Tymoshenko led the peaceful Orange Revolution in 2004 that turned Ukraine away from Moscow’s political orbit and toward the path of European integration.

But Tymoshenko has sought to repair relations with Moscow in the past year, after Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union and NATO made little headway. Friction with the Kremlin also has alienated many voters, especially in the Russian-speaking east.

In one of her firmest statements about Russian ties during the campaign, Tymoshenko said on Thursday that she would avoid antagonizing Russia and seek a mutually beneficial partnership.

“I don’t want to see criticism or empty phrases and aggression that is meant simply to boost ratings. I want both sides to clearly understand each other’s positions … and build mutually beneficial relations,” Tymoshenko said.

“As the president, I see the most peaceful and constructive, but also firm and pragmatic, relations with Russia and other countries that are fundamentally tied to the national interests of Ukraine,” she said.

Thursday’s press conference was the last major event of her monthslong campaign for the presidency, the nation’s top post. Tymoshenko goes into the vote trailing former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, whose election as president was overturned after weeks of street protests by Orange forces in 2004.

Until this week, polls showed Tymoshenko in second place in the field of 18 candidates. But recent polling suggests that a wealthy Ukrainian businessman, Sergey Tigipko, may be overtaking her in the final hours of the contest.

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of Sunday’s ballot, the two top finishers will face a runoff vote Feb. 7.

(This version CORRECTS ADDS quotes, background, photos, byline. corrects press conference was Thursday, not Wednesday.)