Yuschenko sees Washington visit as a success (05/21/00)

Yuschenko sees Washington visit as a success

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko said on May 17 that he had fulfilled all his objectives during his visit to the United States and expressed satisfaction with the results of talks with U.S leaders and world financial organization representatives.

The prime minister's visit was seen as critical to U.S.-Ukraine strategic relations with various high-level issues on the agenda, including Ukraine's entry into the World Trade Organization, the closure of the damaged Chornobyl nuclear facility and the International Monetary Fund's continuing financing for Ukraine, which came under attack after critical reports - chiefly issued by the Western press but also by U.S. officials - of financial improprieties and reporting irregularities within Ukraine's central bank.

During a meeting with foreign businessmen in Kyiv a week after his return from Washington Mr. Yuschenko said the visit had exceeded his expectations.

"We fulfilled all the goals that we put before ourselves and then some," Prime Minister Yushchenko stated.

High on Ukraine's economic agenda is the country's inclusion in the WTO and the trade benefits that would result. On his return from Washington on May 10 after two days of meetings, including talks with President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, as well as with directors of the IMF and the World Bank, Mr. Yuschenko said the U.S. fully supports Ukraine's entry into the WTO and would offer comprehensive consulting and technical assistance. He said he expected that Kyiv would make a strong push for entry into the organization during the WTO's June meeting in Geneva.

The prime minister said U.S. officials backed the measures Ukraine is taking in moving forward on economic reforms and that they "understand the principles and measures which the government is carrying out in keeping with its economic agenda for the current year." He said Washington also supported his efforts to cuff corruption and reduce the shadow economy by putting pressure on businesses to eliminate non-monetary transactions and barter.

During discussions on the large-scale privatization that is currently occurring in Ukraine, Mr. Yuschenko said he invited U.S. experts to witness the process to assure its openness and transparency.

The two sides discussed in detail Ukraine's decision to close Chornobyl this year - a move that the international community has pushed for over a decade. The United States made no promises to help Ukraine fund two reactor blocks at other nuclear energy facilities it claims are required to offset the energy lost when Chornobyl closes. And, while Ukraine still has not received financing promised by the G-7 industrialized nations, including the United States in 1995, Mr. Yuschenko said the U.S. administration showed understanding for the need for alternative energy sources, as well as for the problems Ukraine will encounter in taking Chornobyl permanently off-line.

He added that President Clinton will further discuss the situation with President Leonid Kuchma when the two meet in Kyiv at the beginning of June.

The prime minister also reported that Ukraine had achieved success in the most sensitive issue discussed in Washington: whether the National Bank of Ukraine had deliberately misrepresented its hard currency holdings in order to obtain IMF loans.

Mr. Yuschenko, who headed the central bank of Ukraine before he became prime minister, said that in discussions with the IMF the two sides reviewed the flexibility and transparency of past relations, especially in regard to the several audits that have taken place, and agreed on how to move forward to continue cooperation. He noted, however, that unsubstantiated press reports and allegations had put Ukraine in an awkward position.

"For Ukraine, and I underscore this, this is a difficult, unpleasant and even to a degree an insulting topic, one which carries with it many insinuations, many of them fabricated, which I believe the IMF understood," said Mr. Yuschenko.

From the U.S. side, according to Mr. Yushchenko, among the chief concerns raised regarding bilateral relations was the bootlegging of U.S manufactured products and Ukraine's support for intellectual property rights. Today Ukraine, along with China and Russia, is one of the leading manufacturers of bootleg music CDs and videocassettes.

Mr. Yuschenko said he had assured U.S. authorities that in the last two to three months major inroads had been made in Ukraine to combat bootlegging, including a presidential decree on actions to combat the manufacture of unlicensed products.

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