Tarasyuk's keynote address highlights foreign policy successes (11/25/01)

Tarasyuk's keynote address highlights foreign policy successes

by Adrian Karmazyn

WASHINGTON - In his keynote address at the Leadership Conference Borys Tarasyuk called the appearance of independent Ukraine on the world map one of the biggest geopolitical events of the 20th century. Ukraine's pro-Western former minister of foreign affairs argued that in the last decade foreign policy is perhaps the only area of Ukrainian government activity in which the achievements have been far greater than the setbacks.

Unfortunately, internal economic and political reforms have not been as successful, he noted.

Mr. Tarasyuk said that Ukraine faced many daunting challenges when it became independent in 1991: territorial claims from Russia and Romania, an oversized military force of a million servicemen, inheriting a large nuclear arsenal, which caused a considerable strain in U.S.-Ukraine relations.

In recalling Ukraine's difficult path from the elder President George Bush's "Chicken Kiev" speech to the establishment of a strategic partnership with the United States, Mr. Tarasyuk emphasized that today Ukraine is considered by many to be the lynchpin of European security.

Ukraine, he said, has proven that it is a reliable partner that has adhered to its international commitments, forged a very clear foreign policy agenda and become an important regional leader, including in the grouping GUUAM (which brings together Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova). Ukrainians currently hold a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council and take part in international peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and elsewhere.

Speaking in detail about U.S.-Ukraine relations, Mr. Tarasyuk said that he feels that although Ukraine's response to the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan has been "proper," Kyiv could offer more in support of the war on terrorism. He feels that Russia is contributing more than Ukraine, and that this could boost U.S.-Russian ties to the detriment of Ukrainian interests.

Mr. Tarasyuk, who is a leading member of former Prime Minister Victor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine parliamentary election bloc, called on the United States to pay "adequate" attention to Ukraine and to consider Ukraine's interests when pursuing its policy goals. He cited the financial losses that Ukraine suffered when it agreed - due to U.S. concerns about nuclear proliferation - not to provide turbines from Kharkiv for a nuclear power plant project in Iran. The contract later went to Russia, while U.S. promises to encourage investment in the Kharkiv region were not fruitful.

Ukraine's former foreign affairs minister expressed disappointment with what he considers the European Union's rather cool response to Ukraine's aspirations, regarding membership in the E.U. Unlike the European Union, said Mr. Tarasyuk, NATO, the defense alliance with which Kyiv enjoys a dynamic relationship, is very clear about keeping its doors open to aspiring countries such as Ukraine.

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