Former ambassador to Ukraine speaks in support of continued aid (03/29/98)

Former ambassador to Ukraine speaks in support of continued aid

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - William Green Miller, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, spoke out against cutting back U.S. aid to Ukraine, as threatened in current U.S. legislation if Ukraine does not remove investment barriers for American businesses.

He suggested that the U.S. government should continue to work with the Ukrainian government and interested parties "collectively" and "in good faith."

"I'd rather do that than to use the blunt stick," he told a standing-room-only audience at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) here on March 23.

When the U.S. Congress approved $225 million in aid for Ukraine this year, it added a condition that if the secretary of state does not certify by April 30 that Ukraine has made significant progress in resolving American investment problems, half the aid funds would be withdrawn.

Asked about this possibility in an interview for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on March 17, Mr. Miller's successor, Ambassador Steven Pifer, said: "As of March 17, can the secretary certify significant progress? Unfortunately, I don't think she can."

Asked for his comment on the situation, Mr. Miller, who ended a four-year ambassadorial assignment in Kyiv in January, said that the pressure from the U.S. business community, the U.S. government and Congress, has been helpful.

"But I don't see what is gained by cutting off assistance to Ukraine," he added.

Ukraine needs the assistance and it is important that Ukraine succeed, he said. "We should do everything to get through these problems; we have to find ways to resolve them," he added.

"Certainly, that's the way to work with a strategic partner. Certainly, that's the way to work with friends," he stressed.

Ambassador Miller had just returned from a weeklong visit to Kyiv, where he received the Pylyp Orlyk Award for his contribution to the democratic process in Ukraine. Following the two-hour discussion at the SAIS, the ambassador was presented with an honorary membership in The Washington Group, an association of Ukrainian American professionals that sponsored the discussion evening, in recognition of his contribution to strengthening U.S.-Ukrainian ties.

Mr. Miller said that there are mechanisms in place to resolve investment disputes and that most have been resolved. He admitted, however, that there are some complicated cases that may never will be resolved.

But these difficulties are not unique to American investors, he explained. Ukrainian investors face similar problems.