Yushchenko: My Friend Poisoned Me

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko has named the person he believes poisoned him - saying it was a close friend and godfather to one of his children.

Viktor Yushchenko speaking at a news conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
Mr Yushchenko fell ill during the closely fought 2004 election when he narrowly beat pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych.

His face was severely disfigured although his skin has made significant improvements since.

At a news conference Mr Yushchenko named David Zhvania, a member of a pro-presidential parliamentary faction, as having been involved.

The announcement represents a sharp departure from the president's previous policy of refusing to identify those he believes to have been responsible.

Mr Yushchenko fell gravely ill after attending a dinner with Mr Zhvania which was hosted by two top security officials. Doctors later diagnosed his illness as severe dioxin poisoning.

The pro-Western president has consistently said he knew who was responsible for the poisoning but did not want to name them while an investigation continued.

But Mr Zhvania has angered Mr Yushchenko by claiming earlier this summer that the president suffered only from food poisoning and that his staff invented a politically motivated attack to boost his popularity during the Orange Revolution that accompanied the 2004 presidential campaign.

Asked at a news conference whether he thought Mr Zhvania took part in the poisoning, Mr Yushchenko answered: "I think yes, to put it mildly."

Prosecutors said this week that they had failed to find any suspects. But after being questioned by prosecutors earlier this week, Mr Yushchenko hinted the investigation would produce some "very unpleasant" surprises.

The president has accused Moscow of stalling the investigation by refusing to extradite key figures in the case and provide Russian-made dioxin for testing.

Yushchenko came to power in Orange Revolution

Many people in Ukraine point the finger at Russia, because Mr Yushchenko was running against a Kremlin-backed candidate and because Russia is one of the few countries that produces the dioxin of the formula found in his body.

Mr Zhvania fell out with Mr Yushchenko shortly after he became president following a wave of mass protests in 2004 which came amid allegations that the pro-Russian Mr Yanukovych had rigged the elections.

The dispute has led Mr Yushchenko's office to seek to strip Mr Zhvania, an ethnic Georgian, of his Ukrainian citizenship.

Mr Zhvania's party said in a statement that the actions were illegal and that he is suing Ukrainian authorities in the European Court of Human Rights.

Source: Sky News