On Sept. 11 the US marked the fifth anniversary of the terrorist acts that claimed the lives of about 3,000 Americans. This tragedy ushered in a new era of combating international terrorism. What lessons has the US learned during the five years of fighting this evil? Does the US administration have a plan to secure stability and peace in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, where US troops have been stationed for three years at the head of a multinational force? What role can Ukraine play in the Mideast settlement? This is the subject of an interview with William TAYLOR, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the US to Ukraine.
“Does the Bush administration have a plan for overcoming the rising interethnic hostilities in Iraq and ensuring stability in that country?”
“The situation with Iraq is a very difficult problem for all Americans. A serious debate on this matter is going on everywhere in the United States, including Washington, DC. As you know, I worked for almost a year in Iraq — in Baghdad — and also visited various regions of this country. I am still convinced that we were working for the right goals, first of all, for the right of the Iraqis whom I met there to elect their own government. Naturally, we are not perfect there either, but we have been trying to develop and correct our efforts in Iraq in order to supplement our actions there with components of economic revival, democracy building, and security.”
“How would you assess the role of Ukraine in combating international terrorism, even though the Ukrainian contingent was withdrawn from Iraq last year? What can Ukraine do? Can Kyiv help persuade Iran to drop its nuclear program?”
“When I was in Iraq, I literally worked side by side with Ukrainians. This applied to military aspects as well as to aspects connected to rebuilding Iraq. As you know, 18 Ukrainians died in Iraq, and we honor these victims in the same way as we do American victims. Ukraine also helped in the Afghanistan operation, granting us the right to fly over its territory and offering other organizational and transportation aid.
“Ukraine, as an authoritative UN member, can help persuade Teheran to implement the UN resolution calling on Iran to stop work on nuclear weapons.”
“Do you see the possibility of involving Ukraine in the settlement of the Mideast conflict? What role can Kyiv play here?”
“Ukraine enjoys respect in Eastern Europe, which can be very valuable for efforts in the Middle East. Ukraine is paying more attention to efforts focused on spreading democratic values and settling conflicts in a peaceful way. As far as I can see, the government of Ukraine is now looking at how it can support UN efforts in Lebanon. So, like the US to some extent, Ukraine has some opportunities to apply both hard and soft force.”
“A lot of experts commenting on your speech during the Senate hearings have concluded that the US was interested in the prime ministership of none other than Yulia Tymoshenko and the formation of an Orange government. Is this true?”
“The US, our country’s official representatives, including me and my predecessor in the post of ambassador, always repeated — before, during, and after the elections — that we were ready to work with any government of Ukraine that would be formed as the result of the democratic process. In other words, we are primarily focusing on the process, and by all accounts it was a fair and democratic election. And it is the Ukrainians, not the Americans, Europeans, or any other people, who must decide how to translate the election results into a certain governmental lineup.”
“Commenting on the parliamentary coalition marathon after the March elections, a US expert said that Ukraine saw a collapse of the political class. Do the actions of Ukrainian politicians during the formation of first the anti-crisis ‘red-pink-blue’ coalition and then the so-called broadly based one testify to the maturity of democracy in Ukraine?”
“First of all, the elections showed the maturity of Ukrainian voters. They took part in the voting, they continued to show interest in the process of forming a government, and a government was formed. Politics — and this applies above all to democratic politics — can often be unpredictable, tangled, and sometimes even chaotic and protracted. We have been using all these definitions to describe politics in the US for more than 200 years. But this is better than any other method that one can imagine in this matter. For centuries Ukrainians have had to deal with a leadership that was imposed on them. Now the Ukrainian people are independent and are electing a government of their own in a democratic country. This is the sign of a mature democracy.”
“Do you think this kind of coalition, with the participation of communists and socialists, will be able to carry out market-oriented reforms and bring about integration into the EU and Euro-Atlantic institutions?”
“Undoubtedly, the US and, I hope, other countries will be judging the new government by its actions. My observations indicate that Ukrainian society has changed over the past two years, and today it expects its leadership to take somewhat different actions from those it was prepared to accept two years ago. The Ukrainian people are expecting the government to show accountability, transparency and openness. And while earlier Ukrainians may also have expected the government to do this, now they are firmly convinced that this will be the case. I believe the new government is now able to answer and satisfy these new demands.”
“What do you think about the Ukrainian prime minister’s statement that public hearings should be held on our membership in the WTO? Is the US going to promote Ukraine’s entry into the WTO by the end of this year?”
“I see no reason why Ukraine should not join the WTO by the end of the year. However, this decision is primarily in the hands of the Ukrainian government. There are a few more steps that it should take in order to meet WTO membership requirements. Specifically, Ukraine should pass a number of laws to bring its legislation into line with the commitments imposed by WTO membership. It is up to the government to decide how to prepare the passage of these laws — by means of public consultations, public hearings, or any other way. The US will in turn give Ukraine all kinds of support in its aspirations to join the WTO.”
“It was assumed that your appointment as US ambassador in Ukraine would speed up this country’s integration into NATO. Was this really your task and has it changed because of the new political situation in Ukraine?”
“The United States does not have such an intention, and I was not appointed here to force Ukrainians to take certain steps. Should the people and government of Ukraine wish to carry out a defense reform and move towards NATO membership (not identical questions) we will be ready to support them in this matter. We think the formulations that the political parties agreed upon in the unity pact are quite reasonable. It will be a very serious thing to make a decision on this matter, in which case the Ukrainian people must, of course, have their say. And, in keeping with the unity pact, such a referendum should be held after there has been a public debate and the citizens of Ukraine have had every opportunity to obtain answers to all their questions. So the US is prepared to back Ukraine in its decision. One of the decisions that the Ukrainian government should make concerns the actions to be taken this fall, now that NATO’s Riga summit is approaching. In other words, the government of Ukraine should decide whether it wants to apply for and receive an invitation to join the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). If the Ukrainian government makes this kind of decision, we will definitely support it.”
“Does this mean that Ukraine has a chance to join the MAP at the Riga summit?”
“Yes, if the Ukrainian government sends a clear signal right now, in September or October, that Ukraine wants to join the MAP, the United States will support this decision. Naturally, there are other NATO allies, who have some questions about this. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s visit to Brussels on Sept. 14 will give him an opportunity to spell out his viewpoint. For our NATO allies, this will be an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers in order to find an approach to the problem of extending the MAP to Ukraine in November.”
“Do you believe that the Yanukovych government will ensure tranquility for three and a half years, which will attract even US investors? Did you see any signs of this in Donetsk oblast, where the local authorities have been dominant for the past 10 years?”
“I had a very successful visit in Donetsk. I met Governor Lohvynenko, who really formulated the phrase that investments and investors love tranquility and that we can really expect that a calm situation will emerge in Ukraine in the course of the next three and a half years. The period of time that we have until the next elections can be a period of improving the investment climate in Ukraine. Economic reform and political stability can be a good incentive for investments. I think that Donetsk and other regions of the country are well aware of the importance of a favorable investment climate.”
“The US has always been interested in the Odesa-Brody pipeline, now being used in the reverse mode. Is the US interested in extending this oil pipeline as far as Plock to be able to transport Caspian oil to Europe?”
“We have always supported the idea of multiple pipeline routes. Both consumers and suppliers will benefit from having a choice of routes for receiving and delivering energy resources. And our approach is to choose the best of the many existing pipelines and test it in a commercial mode. This test could be conducted as follows: the consumer, let’s say a processor in Poland or some other country in Europe, and a supplier, say, a producer in Central Asia, have struck a deal and they need the Odesa- Brody pipeline to pump their oil. We support this approach. Deputy Prime Minister Andrii Kliuiev has already shown interest in this, too. He said there a group of experts will study the possibility of this commercial test. We told him that it would be worthwhile looking into an entire range of potential players — consumers, transporters, and suppliers.”
“The US criticized the Ukraine-Russia gas deal signed earlier this year because there was no transparency. Do you think the new government is prepared to offer transparent patterns of gas deliveries from Central Asia and Russia to Europe via Ukraine, which can increase the effectiveness of gas cooperation in the region?”
“We continue to believe that transparency is a good thing both for business and the consumer. And we have heard from leading members of the new cabinet that transparency is the approach that must be observed in business in general and in the oil and gas sector in particular.”
