The main issue on the agenda during Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn’s recent visit to the United States concerned the presidential elections in Ukraine. In an interview after his meeting with National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice (shortly to become Secretary of State), Mr. Lytvyn noted that the campaign was of “critical importance” for Washington. During the meeting, it was stressed that the transparency of the elections is opening the road to cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. The National Security Advisor said she sincerely hoped cooperation would be furthered. During the meeting Volodymyr Lytvyn said that “the Ukrainian people must elect a president who has a legitimate status and is respected by the world.”
Mr. Lytvyn also met with former Secretary of State Colin Powell (at the time of their meeting President Bush had not yet accepted his resignation). Mr. Powell called the presidential campaign a crucial moment in Ukrainian history. Mr. Lytvyn, on his part, declared that the elections should result in Ukraine’s maximum integration into the European space.
“During all our meetings in the United States we saw that they are trying to help Ukraine,” said Volodymyr Lytvyn, stressing that “Ukraine, on its part, also intends to conduct vigorous cooperation.” On Tuesday the Ukrainian speaker sent a letter to Central Election Committee chairman Serhiy Kyvalov, expressing concern over signals being received by the ad hoc parliamentary commission monitoring the implementation of the presidential elections law. The letter reads, in part, “...despite the presence of a generally clearly formulated legal framework providing for the elections of the President of Ukraine, the first round of the campaign points to considerable objective as well as subjective obstacles in actually exercising the electoral legislation.” The letter further expresses concern over the “mass character of such facts” and that there are reasons to “regard this as the result of organized and coordinated actions.” Mr. Lytvyn emphasized that certain shortcomings in the organization of the elections and in the course of the vote count “are to an extent associated with the Central Election Committee.”
In Washington Volodymyr Lytvyn also commented on Motor-Sich factory manager Vyacheslav Bohuslayev’s recent statement, calling it “provocative.” At a press conference in Zaporizhia last Friday, Vyacheslav Bohuslayev was underlining the importance of Ukraine’s industrialized regions for the rest of the country, and declared, “Ukraine means the east, the east, and the east.” Volodymyr Lytvyn stated, “This provocative statement must warrant a response from the government,” adding that the factory manager’s statement was a “demonstration of permissiveness” and that he should “read at least one history textbook.”
