Ukraine's envoy to U.S. astonished by CIS IPA vote (03/14/99)

Ukraine's envoy to U.S. astonished by CIS IPA vote

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Anton Buteiko, said he was astonished by the vote in the Verkhovna Rada to join the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"In my opinion, it was passed contrary to procedures envisaged by the Constitution," he said in an interview on March 5, two days after the vote.

Also in the interview, Ambassador Buteiko commented on Ukraine's relationship with NATO, the recent State Department report on human rights in Ukraine, the hold-up in International Monetary Fund credits and the international commercial satellite project Sea Launch.

A professional diplomat with experience as a lawyer and legislator, Ambassador Buteiko explained that, according to the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law on International Agreements, action on joining an international agreement must be initiated by the executive and not the legislative branch of government.

As for the merits of the action itself, he said it was not for him as an ambassador to pass judgment on Verkhovna Rada decisions, but, personally, he added, he has reservations about its timing and effect. The CIS currently is undergoing a period of re-evaluation, and it is not at all certain what the end result will be, he said.

"And, as for (the deputies') expectations that membership in the IPA will help resolve Ukraine's problems, I think their expectations are greatly exaggerated," he added. He recalled that some 910 CIS agreements have been signed, "and, with very few exceptions, none of them is functioning or effective. And I expect the same fate for the inter-parliamentary structure," he said.

Mr. Buteiko said the vote will not affect the government's political course, which is "cooperation within the CIS and primarily with our largest neighbor, Russia, and at the same time maintaining Ukraine's strategic objective of integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures."

Ukraine is trying to convince the CIS to concentrate on creating a free-trade zone, based on principles of the World Trade Organization and the European Union. It should not be used to isolate its post-Soviet member states, he said, but should help them enter the world economic system.

Asked about the upcoming 50th anniversary summit of NATO in Washington, Mr. Buteiko said that Ukraine's representation there will be "at the highest level."

The April 23-25 anniversary meeting will bring together the 19 NATO member-states (including its three new members, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic) and 25 partner states, including Ukraine. In addition to the NATO summit, the program will include a collective session of the 44-member Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and a summit-level session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.

"NATO has and is playing a singularly important role in guaranteeing the security of Europe - the new system of European security," Ambassador Buteiko said, adding that Ukraine's participation in this area is "absolutely necessary."

"We cannot imagine a future without our participation in this structure," he said.

Ambassador Buteiko stressed that one has to view the expansion of NATO "from a new perspective - a perspective not of confrontation but of cooperation. From this perspective, one can see that the expansion of NATO, a structure that unites democratic countries, means the expansion of democracy. How can one be against expanding democracy?"

Asked to comment on the recent U.S. State Department human rights report on Ukraine, which received a "mixed" review, with "limited progress" in some areas and persisting "serious problems" in others, Mr. Buteiko said that Ukraine, like anyone else, is concerned about how it is perceived by others. He added, however, that Ukraine is building a society that is based on law, but it is also "based on our own interests, our own perception of democracy, our own possibilities and our own democratic traditions."

He noted that the report contained both positive and negative assessments of human rights in Ukraine, and added that concerned ministries and agencies will take appropriate action to remedy shortcomings where necessary, and that Ukraine will defend itself in the case of unwarranted criticism.

Asked why the IMF keeps delaying the next tranche of the more than $2 billion in Extended Fund Facility credits for Ukraine, Ambassador Buteiko said the delay is not over any major disagreement in principle. Rather, he said, it is related to rulings by the Constitutional Court and actions by the Verkhovna Rada. He added that he has no doubt that an agreement will be reached.

Asked about the prospects of the international commercial satellite venture Sea Launch, Mr. Buteiko said he is optimistic about not only the project's commercial success but its positive symbolism as well.

The joint project will use a Norwegian ocean-going launch pad, Russian rocket engines and U.S. navigational expertise to launch 12 commercial communications satellites into orbit at one time using Ukrainian Zenit rockets, which were originally designed to carry 12 nuclear warheads.

"It symbolizes a new approach to cooperation following the fall of the Communist system," Ambassador Buteiko said. "It's obvious that this project has become an example of this new spirit of cooperation, and not of suspicion and confrontation."

Recent press reports out of Seattle, however, said that a federal grand jury was looking into the possibility that Boeing illegally shared technical secrets with its Russian and Ukrainian partners in the project, some of whom may have been intelligence agents.

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