American diplomat gives high marks to Ukraine (06/29/97)

American diplomat gives high marks to Ukraine

by R.L. Chomiak
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - When Ed Koch was mayor of New York, his signature question to the voters was "How'm I doin'?"

If President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine asked that question - or for that matter a member of the Verkhovna Rada, a Cabinet minister or even a worker in some place like Trostianets - the answer would include such words as "remarkable," "unprecedented," "extraordinary," at least from an American diplomat who has observed Ukraine up close for several years.

The diplomat, who was visiting Washington recently, gave a background briefing about developments in Ukraine to a mixed group of businesspeople, government officials, scholars and journalists.

Now that Ukraine has stabilized its foreign affairs, he said, it will concentrate on domestic problems; he predicted economic growth in Ukraine by next year - the first growth first since independence. "Much of the Ukrainian government's emphasis over the last years has been on foreign policy - out of necessity," he said, adding that now Ukraine can focus on internal questions.

He talked about the "extraordinary quality" of Ukraine's young Foreign Affairs Ministry, and cited what the Ukrainian diplomats have accomplished during just the last month:

Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty flank adjustments. (The treaty goes back to the time when there was a Soviet Union and a Warsaw Pact, but the emergence of new independent states like Ukraine made adjustments about the conventional forces' location necessary.)
Completion of Ukraine's dragged-out treaty with Romania (which had insisted Ukraine gained part of its territory as the result of the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact).
Ukraine's charter with NATO.
Agreement on borders with Belarus.
The bilateral with Russia and the settlement of the Black Sea Fleet basing dispute that goes back to the time when independent Ukraine was not quite a year old.

The diplomat characterized the Ukrainian-Russian agreement as "a critically important event" that for years had been "full of suspense and a great deal of apprehension and false starts."

The economy, the borders, the cultural relationship as well as the Black Sea Fleet "are all part of the equation," the diplomat contended. The Russian navy now has a leased base in Sevastopol, he noted, "but it is 100 percent clear that the base is part of the Ukrainian territory."

Decline of the economic situation in Ukraine, the American diplomat said, "has finally subsided" and real growth should be apparent by next year.

"Ukraine had inherited an economy that was deformed," said the diplomat, explaining that it had been an integral part of a larger Soviet Union, and a totally different system from the market economy the government is instituting. "Putting in the new economy has been a monumentally difficult task," he said, and all this was happening while Ukraine was building "a new state, a new legal system and a new society." In the legal sphere he cited the need to train 6,000 new judges. "The task is enormous," he added.

Here, the diplomat expressed special praise for the people of Ukraine. He said he had learned that "Ukrainians can put up with great hardship, and will do so if they feel their leaders are pursuing things in [the people's] interest."

He added: "There should be no doubt - what is happening in Ukraine is really a democratic change ... They vote, and they vote to throw people out," if these don't fulfill the voters' expectations, the diplomat said.

He also had praise for "the nature of Ukrainian skepticism, which is far too great, and the memories far too strong" to give credence to demagoguery.

"There's no Zhirinovsky in Ukraine yet."

The Ukrainian people, he said, seem to realize that there still are four to five difficult years ahead of them, but they "won't swallow promises" by demagogues.

As for the 1998 elections to the Verkhovna Rada, the American diplomat predicted that the present power will be returned. He characterized it as "one-third Communists, one-third democrats and one-third a floating group," and that the new blood will come in elections after that. He said he has noticed that "a very able group of parliamentarians is growing. There are many outstanding young politicians without ties to the Communist past and with experience in Western economics. Their time, however, is unlikely to come for five-six years."

The Communists in Parliament "are well organized," he said, adding that the Socialists have "the same features," while democratic parties are still splintered. "They're not yet parties, but personality groupings," he said.

At the same time, he said, the Verkhovna Rada is getting things done. Last year's passing of the Constitution was "a remarkable event" and "it remains a crucial electrifying moment." And President Kuchma wisely refuses to push through important legislation, such as the reform package and the tax legislation, by decree. Instead he goes to the Rada for approval, and "this strengthens democratic institutions" in Ukraine, said the U.S. diplomat. "President Kuchma, as did President [Leonid] Kravchuk, feels that Parliament must be a part of each issue." The president sees legislative leaders frequently, he said, adding that "a remarkable national consensus is evolving," in Ukraine.

Turning to recent allegations of corruption in Ukraine, the American diplomat noted that "much sinister" also has occurred in Russia, in Uzbekistan and in other former Soviet republics and, as a result, "many have become rich and many very poor." But he noted that the government shows a determination to deal with these issues and cited as an example the new adjudication board that will resolve disputes between businesspeople and officials. Claims by American investors, he said, have been settled, and the American companies "are fully satisfied."

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