Officials describe U.S.-Ukraine ties as "highest level of bilateral relations" (01/26/97)

Officials describe U.S.-Ukraine ties as "highest level of bilateral relations"

by R.L. Chomiak
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - In the short span of five years, diplomatic relations between the United States and Ukraine have risen from active non-recognition by the U.S. to what a veteran Ukrainian diplomat calls "the highest level of bilateral relations."

The diplomat, Valerii Kuchynsky, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Ukraine to the U.S., spoke on January 17 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) during a meeting of the American-Ukrainian Advisory Committee's Political-Economic Working Group chaired by Paula Dobriansky and Richard Murphy.

A senior Clinton administration official, who spoke on the record but not for attribution, reported on the latest U.S.-Ukrainian initiatives. He recalled that diplomatic relations between the two countries began in January 1992, and noted that they have been deepening since then.

"1996 was a very important year in the development of those relations," he continued. "It was marked in September by the willingness of both sides to talk about the U.S.-Ukraine relationship as a strategic partnership." It is this strategic partnership that Mr. Kuchinsky characterized as "the highest level of bilateral relations."

It was also in September 1996 that the Binational Commission headed by President Leonid Kuchma and Vice-President Al Gore was announced. President Kuchma had suggested the creation of such a commission during his February 1996 visit to Washington, and within six months it became a reality.

The Kuchma-Gore Commission was established, the senior administration official noted, "as a place to achieve greater results." Its four committees - Foreign Policy, Security, Trade and Investment, and Sustainable Economic Cooperation - are headed by high-level officials from both governments and have been meeting in Kyiv and Washington to tackle urgent issues in unison.

In the sphere of economics, the official said both sides agree that Ukraine needs a stable base for government revenue; in the Ukrainian case this should be a consumption tax, such as the value-added tax (VAT), because an income tax, under conditions of low profits and low incomes, would not generate sufficient revenue.

Ukraine, he said, has received an "extraordinary level of support" from the international community during the December 17 pledging conference hosted by the International Monetary Fund: $3.5 billion. Now it is up to the Verkhovna Rada to pass nine packages of legislation on which this international assistance hinges. So far, only two of those legislative packages have gone through the first reading in Parliament.

The United States was represented at the pledging conference, by Assistant Treasury Secretary David Lipton, who is also a member of the Sustainable Economic Cooperation Committee in the Kuchma-Gore Commission - "a place to achieve greater results," as noted at the CSIS presentation

Reforms, the senior administration official said, also are needed for foreign investments in Ukraine that would dwarf any external assistance. Many investors are interested in coming to Ukraine, but Ukraine first has to solve problems facing investors, and it's up to the Verkhovna Rada to pass the required legislation.

From the American point of view, the Kuchma government is committed to make this the year of reform, the administration official said, because 1998 is the year of parliamentary elections in Ukraine and 1999 the year of presidential elections, and election years are not the time to pass major legislation.

He also expressed satisfaction over Ukraine's active role in regional initiatives and cited as an example the statement on Belarus developed by the presidents of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland. The joint statement made it "very clear that the movement towards democracy and market economy is not just a Western vision; that it is a vision shared by Belarus neighbors within the region."

Ukraine, he added, continues to develop and expand its relations with NATO, despite the fact that currently it does not seek membership in the alliance. Volodymyr Horbulin, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, the official noted, had visited NATO headquarters in Brussels on January 10.

A military officer from the U.S. Defense Department who was present at the meeting pointed out that Ukraine's membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace program "is not just exercises"; it includes operational planning, and Ukrainian officers are active partners in this planning.

| Home Page |