1. Could you please rate the most important events on the international arena in 2008? Which of them, to your mind, were the most significant for Ukrainian society?
2. Which events in Ukraine were considered most significant abroad, in particular in Romania?
3. Which of The Day‘s publications and authors do you remember best of all?
4. What would you like to wish Ukrainians in 2009?
1. The year of 2008 was full of both positive and negative events. I think that of the greatest importance for Ukraine were the NATO Bucharest summit in April, which adopted historical decisions for the Alliance and the Euro-Atlantic regional security, and the EU-Ukraine Paris summit in September. On the other end of the spectrum is the international financial and economic crisis, which affects a considerable share of the world’s population.
2. Ukraine’s WTO membership was a very pleasant surprise and made us glad to see Ukraine with a new status-that of a respectful partner in global economic relationships.
What regards events that were viewed as important in Romania, I can mention several unsuccessful attempts, a real and strange campaign, that involved some Ukrainian officials. Misguided by biased, incomplete, and unverified mass media information, they made a series of statements that struck the public at large, all the more so that we live in the first century of the third millennium and in Europe, where democratic norms, solidarity, and transparency are everyday values.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian society has become one year older. You have wonderful, talented young people who embrace modern values. They want to have a higher standard of life, on a par with the rest of Europe.
In this context, I am pleased to remind you about a very interesting survey that was conducted, among other places, in Kyiv. It was concerned with the Romanian, Ukrainian, and Moldovan societies and was called “Social Security in the Romania-Ukraine-Moldova Region: Trilateral Approach.” The survey was carried out by a group of independent and well-known experts from Romania, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova.
3. I would not want to be unfair to anybody. I cannot afford being partial and single out just a few articles and individual authors. I think that the question ought to be reformulated. A daily newspaper should be considered as a whole. For me it is important that when you open a newspaper, what you find there is reliable, unbiased, and thoroughly verified information. I personally regularly read most of the columns in your newspaper.
4. The end of every year leaves every person with both happy and less pleasant moments. The majority of people still remain incurable optimists. On the threshold of Christmas and the New Year of 2009, I would like to wish to The Day‘s readership and all Ukrainians good health, peace, prosperity, and enough energy to overcome all hardships, including the ones caused by the international economic crisis.
