[Ohio UZO News] Ukraine: Note; WP editorial; WSJ; NYT; WH; KP

[Deychak, Orest]

NOTE:  

Below please find a selection of articles from key newspapers published
while I was away last week observing the presidential elections in
Kyrgyzstan for the OSCE.  Of course, there was more comprehensive
coverage about the Vice-President's visit in the major U.S. media.

 

Several organizations have asked me recently to publish notices of their
upcoming events.  For various reasons, I limit upcoming Ukraine-related
events to those of the Helsinki Commission and other US government
entities. Thanks for your understanding.  However, for those of you in
the DC area, Ken Bossong (kbossong at hotmail.com) publishes a list of
upcoming Ukraine-related events on a weekly basis.  The U.S.-Ukraine
Foundation also publishes upcoming Ukraine-related events focused but
not limited to Washington, DC:  http://www.usukraine.org/.  The
Ukrainian Weekly http://www.ukrweekly.com/ publishes upcoming events
throughout the USA and Canada. 

 

OD

  

 

The Washington Post

Editorial

Mr. Biden's Diplomacy; The vice president pays important visits to
Ukraine and Georgia. 

25 July 2009

FINAL

A16

DURING A GENERALLY upbeat visit to Moscow this month, President Obama
made clear that the United States and Russia still have a major
difference over the Kremlin's view that some of the countries that
formed the Soviet Union must now live under its autocratic "sphere of
influence." Mr. Obama urged the regime of Vladimir Putin to abandon such
"19th century" thinking, but since it shows no sign of doing so,
governments such as those of Ukraine and Georgia -- both democratically
elected and Western-leaning -- could be excused for worrying that a
"reset" of U.S.-Russian relations might happen at their expense.

That's why Vice President Biden performed a valuable service this week
by traveling to the capitals of both countries. Mr. Biden met the
Ukrainian and Georgian presidents as well as their leading political
opponents, and he delivered major public addresses in which he
reaffirmed U.S. support for the two countries' sovereign choices. "As we
reset the relationship with Russia, we reaffirm our commitment to an
independent Ukraine," he said in Kiev. "We understand that Georgia wants
to join NATO. We fully support that aspiration," he said in Tbilisi.

To his credit, the vice president didn't limit his messages to stroking.
In Ukraine he forcefully urged feuding political leaders to overcome
their quarrels and address their country's heavy dependence on Russian
energy imports. In Georgia Mr. Biden publicly prodded President Mikheil
Saakashvili to deliver on promised political reforms and met with his
opposition. He emphasized that two provinces invaded and occupied by
Russia last year could be recovered not by military means but only by
building a tolerant and prosperous country.

The administration must now determine how best to follow Mr. Biden's
words with actions. The vice president announced the establishment of a
U.S.-Ukrainian working group on energy security, which could help
Ukraine achieve the efficiency reforms that would free it from
dependence on Russia -- which has twice cut off supplies of gas in
midwinter. But in Georgia the U.S. delegation was noncommittal in
response to Georgian requests that the United States supply defensive
weapons and join a European Union mission that monitors the volatile
ceasefire line with Russia. The administration may be right to be
cautious about weapons sales, while continuing to train the Georgian
army. But, if requested by the European Union, it should join in the
monitoring mission. Placing U.S. personnel on the ground would eliminate
any doubt about America's stance against Russian neo-imperialism -- and
make it less likely that Mr. Putin would again attempt to subdue a
neighbor by force. 

The Wall Street Journal

World News: Biden Faults Ukraine Over Energy Failings 

By Peter Spiegel 

23 July 2009

A10

KIEV, Ukraine -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden chastised Ukraine's
political leadership on Wednesday, saying Kiev risks squandering its
celebrated Orange Revolution through governmental infighting that has
stalemated needed economic reforms, including liberalizing Ukraine's gas
market to end dependence on foreign powers and their suppliers.

As he has throughout his three-day visit to Kiev, Mr. Biden reiterated
the Obama administration's commitment to strengthen ties with Ukraine
and rejected Russian claims that the former Soviet republic was part of
Moscow's "sphere of influence."

But in sometimes harsh tones, Mr. Biden said the 2004 revolution, in
which pro-democracy protesters overthrew a Russian-backed leadership
accused of electoral fraud, was one "whose promise remains to be
fulfilled" by Ukraine's current leaders.

Ukraine's political paralysis has dragged on for months, with former
Orange Revolution allies President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko trading accusations and preventing key energy and
government reform measures from moving through Parliament.

In a significant departure reflecting Washington's growing frustration
with Kiev, Mr. Biden cast the infighting in both historical and
national-security terms, saying future generations would hold the
current leadership accountable if it doesn't take needed but painful
steps to overhaul an economy and political system sputtering in the wake
of an economic recession.

"The time for inertia and neglect has long passed," Mr. Biden said in
his 20-minute speech at the Soviet-era Ukraine House. "The leaders of
this country came together once in 2004 because they knew a free and
prosperous Ukraine was more important than any one politician or any one
political party. I have no doubt Ukrainians will come together again."

Mr. Biden saved his toughest criticism for the government's handling of
the energy sector, where the government provides large subsidies on
imported natural gas that is sold domestically. Analysts have argued the
disparity between market prices and the cheap government-sold gas has
created a black market where corruption is rampant.

In addition, analysts said, the large subsidies have forced Kiev to rely
on below-market-price imports from Russia, which allows Moscow to
directly influence Ukraine's domestic economy. Twice in the past three
years, disputes between Russia and Ukraine over gas payments have shut
down a major gas pipeline that transits from Ukraine to the rest of
Europe, leaving parts of Eastern and Central Europe shivering during the
winter.

Although he didn't mention Russia by name, Mr. Biden said reform of the
energy sector was essential to Ukraine's independence and national
security, saying only if the country liberalized its gas market would it
be free of dependence on foreign powers and their suppliers.

"Your economic freedom depends more, I suspect in this country, on your
energy freedom than on any other single factor," Mr. Biden said, urging
conservation as well as reform. "That will be a boon to your economy and
an immeasurable benefit, I respectfully suggest, to your national
security." Mr. Biden also announced the establishment of a joint
U.S.-Ukrainian working group on energy security.

Ukraine has already implemented some painful economic reforms, including
an agreement to gradually increase energy prices, as part of an
emergency $16.4 billion aid deal with the International Monetary Fund.

Mr. Biden, who traveled to nearby Georgia on Wednesday, also told the
BBC the U.S. might be open to joining an unarmed European Union mission
that monitors Georgia's borders with its pro-Russian breakaway regions,
a move favored by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. But Mr. Biden
emphasized no decision had been made since there hasn't been a direct
request for U.S. assistance.

Mr. Biden was noncommittal, however, on whether the U.S. would supply
Georgia with defensive weapons, another move sought by Mr. Saakashvili.

The New York Times

Biden Says U.S. Still Backs Ukraine in NATO 

By ELLEN BARRY 

22 July 2009

8

KIEV, Ukraine -- Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Tuesday that
the United States would continue to support Ukraine's bid to join NATO
despite Russia's objections.

Mr. Biden's visit to the region -- taking place only two weeks after
President Obama's summit meeting with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of
Russia -- was intended to ease fears in Georgia and Ukraine over whether
the Obama administration might withdraw support for their pro-Western
governments to improve ties with Russia. Russian officials have been
increasingly angered by deepening Western alliances in what it terms its
''zone of privileged interests,'' and especially the proposed expansion
of NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia, which were once part of the
Soviet Union. Mr. Biden made it clear that the United States remained
enthusiastic about the proposal.

''If you choose to be part of Euro-Atlantic integration, which I believe
you have, then we strongly support that,'' Mr. Biden said after a
meeting with the Ukrainian president, Viktor A. Yushchenko. ''We do not
recognize -- and I want to reiterate it -- any sphere of influence. We
do not recognize anyone else's right to dictate to you or any other
country what alliances you seek to belong to or what bilateral
relationships you have.''

The visit gave substance to the American view of the reinvigorated
relationship with Russia. While Russian leaders are willing to cooperate
on arms control and the military effort in Afghanistan, they see
American policy on Russia's borders as the real test of whether
Washington is taking a new approach. Mr. Biden laid out a different
vision: as other cooperative ventures with Russia proceed, he said,
competition in the post-Soviet regions will fade away -- to the benefit
of everyone, including Georgia and Ukraine.

''The more substantive relationship we have with Moscow, the more we can
defuse the zero-sum thinking about our relations with Russia's
neighbors,'' he said.

In Moscow, a Foreign Ministry spokesman called on the United States to
consider the historical and cultural ties between Russia and its
post-Soviet neighbors. The spokesman, Andrei Nesterenko, said it was
Ukraine's sovereign right to choose its allies, but he noted that ''it
is important that this is implemented transparently, without any
'backdoor games' and not at the cost of somebody else's interests.''

In a briefing after the talks here, Antony J. Blinken, Mr. Biden's
national security adviser, said he hoped that Russia would view American
policy as an effort to build a ''multipartner world'' and to shore up
the stability of the entire region.

''We're not trying to build our own sphere of influence,'' he said.
''The partnerships aren't being built against anyone. They're being
built for the purpose of addressing common challenges that Russia also
faces.''

''I don't have any guarantee that that's how it's going to play out,''
he added. In truth, NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine seems far
off. Mr. Yushchenko, an emphatically pro-Western leader who has
championed NATO membership, is not expected to win a presidential
election in January. The front-runners, Yulia V. Tymoshenko and Viktor
F. Yanukovich, are less enthusiastic about NATO membership, as is much
of Ukraine's population.

A senior American official said Ukraine had not always shown an
eagerness for NATO membership or an American-led military modernization.
In June, the United States canceled a military exercise planned with
Ukraine because the Parliament did not pass legislation required to
authorize the exercise. A similar parliamentary vote was shelved in
2006, amid anti-American and anti-NATO protests.

The push for NATO accession has been more central in Georgia, where Mr.
Biden is scheduled to visit Wednesday. Georgia has been seeking muscular
advocacy from the United States and Europe since the war last August.

But the war hurt Georgia's prospects for joining NATO, with some
members, especially Germany, flatly opposing it as unnecessarily
provocative to Russia.

On Sunday, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia told The Wall Street
Journal that hopes of joining NATO were ''almost dead.'' Georgian
officials said that Mr. Saakashvili had been quoted incompletely; they
told the local media that his real message was that ''if Russia reached
its goal and managed to block the chances of Georgia to join the
alliance, it would be a great tragedy for our country.''

 

Statement by Vice President Biden After Meeting with President Viktor
Yushchenko of Ukraine
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-Vice-President-
Biden-After-Meeting-with-President-Viktor-Yushchenko-of-Ukraine/> 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-Vice-President-B
iden-After-Meeting-with-President-Viktor-Yushchenko-of-Ukraine/

 

Kyiv Post


Editorial


A last chance


23 July, 2009 

This week's arrest of Oleksiy Pukach, who allegedly strangled journalist
Georgiy Gongadze with his own hands, may be Ukraine's last chance to
finally solve a crime which continues to haunt the nation. The 2000
murder and the cover-ups that followed have stained the reputation of
national leaders, past and present, raising doubts about whether Ukraine
will ever be a law-abiding nation.

Pukach, a former high-ranking Interior Ministry police administrator,
seemed to be hiding in plain sight before his July 21 capture in nearby
Zhytomyr Oblast. He became a fugitive more than five years ago.
Investigators say he has confessed and is identifying those who ordered
Gongadze's murder.

The nation's political leaders and law enforcement need to get it right
this time, after a nine-year investigation marked by stonewalling,
deception and outright official lies.

The continued impunity of some of the nation's elite, who have pilfered
the country's riches at will since independence in 1991, needs to come
to an end. And let Pukach's arrest start the way. 

The nation and the world need to know, once and for all, whether
ex-President Leonid Kuchma or members of his inner circle of advisers
ordered Gongadze's murder as retribution for his brand of hard-hitting
journalism.

The tapes recorded by former Kuchma bodygard Mykola Melnychenko are
detailed and voluminous. Instead of competently investigating those
700-plus hours of conversations involving the ex-president, law
enforcers have stonewalled on authenticating the tapes. If bogus, the
tapes could easily have been exposed as such by now. We believe that at
least some of the recorded conversations depict events as they actually
happened. Competent investigators would determine which ones.

If the arrest of Pukach is another political stunt and if the Gongadze
investigation degenerates into more smokescreens, the backlash against
those in power should be swift and severe from the public, Western
partners, human rights organizations and historians. There is no more
room for cover-ups or foul-ups.

 

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