FOR THE RECORD: Letters on the eve of the G-8 summit: Congressional Ukrainian Caucus (07/23/06)

FOR THE RECORD: Letters on the eve of the G-8 summit

Congressional Ukrainian Caucus

Following is the text of a letter sent by the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus to President George W. Bush on July 11 before the president left for the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare for your trip to St. Petersburg and your meetings there with G-8 leaders, the bipartisan Congressional Ukrainian Congress greatly appreciates the support that you have shown for Ukraine's development as a modern, democratic, European state. We ask that you take the opportunity of those meetings to make several points regarding Ukraine with your G-8 counterparts.

In bilateral meetings with West European and Canadian leaders, we hope that you will underscore your support for Ukraine's integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. The Orange Revolution and the March parliamentary elections demonstrate that Ukrainians have firmly chosen the path of democracy. While that path may be bumpy, as it is in all democratizing countries, it is in our interest and Europe's to encourage Ukraine to follow the examples set by the Central European and Baltic countries that have made the transition to democratic, market economies over the past 10 years.

We believe that the West should send two important signals now to Ukraine which you might discuss with your Western counterparts. First, Ukraine has made considerable progress over the past 18 months in meeting the standards for membership in NATO. If the new Ukrainian Cabinet supports President Yushchenko's desire to draw closer to and ultimately join NATO, the Alliance should also be prepared to support that desire.

Second, there will likely be renewed negotiations between Ukraine and Russia over the price of natural gas; Europe has a direct interest in those talks, as the bulk of Russian natural gas to Europe transits Ukraine. The United States and Europe should make clear that, while Ukraine should pay market prices for energy, those prices should be phased in gradually to avoid harmful disruptions to the Ukrainian economy. The United States and Europe should strongly encourage Ukraine and Russia to reach an open and transparent agreement on that basis.

We hope that you will make parallel points in your discussion with President [Vladimir] Putin. In particular, Russia should avoid the temptation to exploit Ukraine's dependence on Russian gas supplies for political purposes. That will only call into question Russia's reliability as an energy supplier to global markets. Second, we recommend that you be clear in describing to Mr. Putin your support for Ukraine's desire for integration into the European-Atlantic community, including NATO.

Finally, with a parliamentary coalition now agreed upon in Ukraine, we hope that you will find an early opportunity to visit Kiev [sic]. Nothing would do more to demonstrate U.S. support for Ukraine's continued political and economic transformation.

We wish you productive discussions in St. Petersburg.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress:

Sander Levin (D-Mich.)
Curt Weldon (R-Pa.)
Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio)
Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.)
Robert Andrews (D-N.J.)
Howard Berman (D-Calif.)
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.)
Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.)
Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)
Michael McNulty (D-N.Y.)

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