ANALYSIS: What did Yuschenko seek during his visit to the U.S.? (11/25/01)

ANALYSIS

What did Yuschenko seek during his visit to the U.S.?

by Jan Makymsiuk
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report

Ukraine's former Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko paid a private visit - sponsored by the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy - to the United States on November 5-8.

The Ukrainian Weekly reported on November 18 that while in New York on November 6, Mr. Yuschenko met with representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora, the press and the Freedom House human rights group, as well as with George Soros. In Washington, Mr. Yuschenko spoke with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, the National Security Council's European and Eurasian Affairs Director Daniel Fried and several members of the U.S. Congress.

Many Ukrainian media did not fail to note that the profile of Mr. Yuschenko's U.S. trip was much lower than he planned. In particular, Mr. Yuschenko expected but failed to meet with Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as President George W. Bush's security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. The much-respected weekly Zerkalo Nedeli, which is rather supportive of Yuschenko, commented on November 10 on these failures in the following way:

"During the final stage of the preparation of [Yuschenko's] visit, various U.S. [government] offices received up to five telephone calls from various people. Since such moves do not raise anything but bewilderment and panic among U.S. bureaucrats, this was exactly why a number of meetings - for example, with Bush's adviser Rice, Secretary of State Powell, and Sen. [Richard] Lugar - did not take place. Viktor Yuschenko was heartily assisted by [former Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk], the Ukrainian diaspora, the Jewish diaspora, Ukraine's Embassy in the United States and even former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Mr. [William Green] Miller. So, Mr. Yuschenko was tended by a lot of nurses and for this reason remained without a number of high-profile meetings with people who would have been interested in talking with him had the visit been organized in a civilized way."

Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh on November 12 publicly criticized the organizers of Mr. Yuschenko's visit on ICTV television, saying that Mr. Yuschenko disappointed the nation by failing to hand President Leonid Kuchma's letters directly to Vice-President Cheney or Dr. Rice. Mr. Yuschenko subsequently claimed to have passed Mr. Kuchma's message to Washington through a third party.

Mr. Kinakh did not explain, however, why President Kuchma chose Mr. Yuschenko as a "messenger" and did not send those letters through him, the current prime minister, who visited Washington a week earlier, or through Foreign Minister Anatolii Zlenko, who went to New York for a United Nations General Assembly session a day after the conclusion of Yuschenko's visit.

"This is a very serious lesson for those organizing Yuschenko's trip. I am speaking not about personal matters - about who should pass those letters - but about the honor and dignity of our Ukrainian state," Prime Minister Kinakh noted.

With regard to the goals pursued by Mr. Yuschenko during his U.S. trip, there was no agreement in the Ukrainian media. Kievskiye Viedomosti suggested that Mr. Yuschenko sought a Kostunica-style "blessing" in the United States for his bloc's election bid. Quoting political analyst Anatolii Hrytsenko, the newspaper opined that "Yuschenko has lost."

Mr. Hrytsenko said: "Kinakh presented himself in the U.S. in such a way as to characterize himself as a serious politician who is oriented toward democratic values. He set this out in a clear, consistent and succinct manner, unlike Yuschenko, who likes to philosophize as he speaks."

Mr. Yuschenko, leader of the Our Ukraine election coalition, explained the purpose of his trip in his characteristically elusive and vague manner. "We tried to impart our belief that the 2002 elections can effectively influence the economy and democracy [in Ukraine]. In order to make these elections successful, one needs to realize that the most topical task [in Ukraine] is to consolidate all democratic forces," Mr. Yuschenko told Zerkalo Nedeli.

But he, too, failed to explain why he was asked to pass President Kuchma's letters to the U.S. leadership. Zerkalo Nedeli suggests that Mr. Kuchma is anticipating a power shift after the March 2002 parliamentary elections toward the Parliament and the government, so now he is working to acquire leverage in both the Yuschenko bloc and among his political opponents.

Jan Maksymiuk is the Belarus, Ukraine and Poland specialist on the staff of RFE/RL Newsline.

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