The visit of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to Ukraine, a founding member of the United Nations, was not simply out of courtesy, as was clear from the very topics discussed with the nation’s leaders. One of the most essential of these was the problem of overcoming the aftermath of the Chornobyl catastrophe. “In the emergency stage international organizations accorded much attention to Chornobyl,” the Secretary General said after his meeting with President Kuchma, stressing that at the current stage “it is necessary to direct attention to the humanitarian consequences of this problem,” reports Interfax-Ukraine. Kofi Annan assured President Kuchma that the UN will support Ukraine in this. In particular, he stated, the UN has set up a website to explain to the world public the Chornobyl problem and raise funds to help overcome it. The UN General Secretary expressed the hope that this site will attract more funds to liquidate the consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe and that “the international community will be true to its word.”
