Russia is pleased with Washington’s decision not to help Ukraine and Georgia receive NATO’s MAP, said President Dmitry Medvedev. RIA Novosti quotes him as saying, “I am glad that common sense has prevailed, even though it is unfortunate that this happened toward the end of the current US administration’s term. This shows the current state of affairs.” The Russian head of state stressed that “the main thing is that this idea is not being pushed senselessly and with abandon, as it was several years ago.” He noted that both Ukraine and Georgia should determine what they need and hold referendums.
NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels Dec. 2-3 to assess progress in Georgia and Ukraine on their way to the Alliance. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared Nov. 26 that during this meeting Washington will not insist on the MAP for Ukraine and Georgia. Earlier, US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor said that his country does not consider granting the MAP to Ukraine to be a priority. He said that Ukraine could skip this stage and start discussing membership after it has achieved the required NATO criteria. Georgia and Ukraine’s NATO membership applications were not granted at the Bucharest summit last April, although a statement was made to the effect that both countries will eventually become members of the Alliance.
Yurii SHCHERBAK, ex-ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, comments on the Russian president’s statement:
“To begin with, Rice’s statement was nothing new for Ukraine because it was apparent that we would never get the MAP in view of our domestic situation. We had no illusions about this. Second, Mr. Medvedev’s joy is a bit premature, for you should be happy only after a certain process is completed, whereas we are halfway through this process. Ukraine has obviously taken the Western course and we will join NATO anyway, so there is no cause for grief-or jubilation over a pause on the way. Let me remind you that the US is getting increasingly convinced that Ukraine does not need the MAP because the formula worked out by the Bucharest summit is self-sufficient; it allows Ukraine to become a member of NATO without any previous programs. By way of example, Ukraine meets every NATO requirement in terms of combat readiness.
“I do not think that the president of a nuclear power should have expressed such joy because this is not the end result by far. Russia should have given thought to its own situation. Medvedev stated in Washington that he did not rule out the possibility that Russia might join NATO. The Russian government should consider how they are going to participate in this security organization; then there would be no confrontation with Ukraine.
“Another thing the Russian leadership should realize is that Russia does not have enough power to keep the entire process under control, as did the Soviet Union by giving orders to its satellites. In fact, even the USSR did not always succeed in influencing the existing processes in some of its republics. Today chances are even slimmer.
“That Russia can dominate the entire post-Soviet space is an illusion. It would be much better off having allies instead of adding to the list of its enemies-as was the case when the tragedy of our people was called “the so-called Holodomor” and then arrogantly denied.
“I think that Medvedev’s statement should be treated calmly; it is not the first one [of the kind] nor last one. We are all perfectly aware of the Russian president’s attitude to Ukraine, and yet it is important to remember that there are intrinsic popular interests in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. These interests coincide in principle, and they must not be loaded with enmity. Least of all should they ignite another Cold War against the West. Russia is interested in having allies among the post-Soviet countries and in the West. Russia is making a grave strategic mistake by taking the erroneous isolationist course and adopting this kind of chauvinistic imperial tone. I think that time will come when these mistakes will be corrected and acknowledged. Then we will be able to exist together in a security space.
“The [existing] obsession with Yushchenko and this literal hatred toward him that is being poured out by these people are not fitting for great statesmen. This is the old imperial practice which we remember only too well — the way they [the Soviet leaders] hurled dirt at President Tito, they way they treated Wladislaw Gomulka, Hungarian and Czechoslovak leaders, and when they proclaimed them traitors of the socialist cause. What was the outcome? It all ended with the ignominious fiasco of these imperial ideas.
“We are in the 21st, not the 20th century. This epoch demands from countries cooperation and understanding in dealing with other countries’ policies. There is nothing anti-Russian in Ukraine’s recognition of the Holodomor and our desire to join NATO. Ukraine will never have a regime that will forget all this just like that. Such expectations on the part of Russia are a great and dangerous illusion.”
