Friendly visit

President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania came on a visit to Ukraine on November 26, and her talks with President Viktor Yushchenko went far beyond the limits of bilateral relations. This is explained by several factors. First, it is necessary to bear in mind that the meeting of this head of an EU member state took place shortly before the Ukraine-EU summit scheduled for December 4. Second, Grybauskaite was European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget in 2004–2009, which means that she versed in European affairs. Finally, her visit coincided with the presidential campaign in Ukraine.

Naturally, European issues were raised during the talks; it was important for the Ukrainian side to secure the Lithuanian president’s support to receive maximum results from the summit in Kyiv. At a joint press conference Yushchenko declared: “On December 4, we will have an interim document on cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union with regard to an associate [membership] agreement, free-trade zone, liberalization of visa requirements, and Ukraine’s integration into European institutions, including integration into the European Energy Association.”

Grybauskaite reaffirmed Vilnius’ preparedness to lend Kyiv a helping hand: “I am prepared to help you as much as you need on your way to the European Union. We are prepared to assist you along the political, economic, and all other lines so long as you wish us to do so.”

The Lithuanian president warned, however, that Ukraine was in a difficult situation and that “all of Europe is watching it closely to see how you will behave, how you will conduct trade with us, and what laws you will enact. This will be your test that will show whether Ukraine can do business transparently and combat economic and financial corruption and whether Ukrainian politicians will be able to act responsibly in dealing with both your people and the international community, primarily in the energy sphere. Ukraine is one of our most important partners in the energy sector. If you can forget about intermediaries and make everything as transparent as possible, this will be a test for Ukraine to see how it will be looked upon and assessed. And so I wish you success. Lithuania is prepared to help to the best of its ability on the governmental, presidential, and public level.”

The Ukrainian president shared his Lithuanian counterpart’s idea of the transparency of Ukrainian energy supplies to Lithuania. “Today I will forward a directive to the government to remove all intermediaries from this project and revise the agreement along these lines. I wholeheartedly share the concept and stand taken by the Lithuanian side, specifically by the Lithuanian president, in regard to fair, transparent relations in the domain of electrical energy supplies without any intermediaries,” Yushchenko stressed during the press conference.

He went on to inform that several weeks ago, during the talks with President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, the possibility of the Belarusian electricity transmission system to service this project was discussed: “The Belarusian side will make every effort to have the required capacities to transmit some 850 million kWh a year.”

Yushchenko said Ukraine was prepared to allocate a nuclear power unit to generate and export electricity. He believes that the agreement on exports of electricity signed with Lithuania, to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010, serves as a good example of realizing reciprocal economic interests. He referred to the arrangement for long-term free Lithuanian visas for Ukrainian nationals as another example of neighborly relations.

The Lithuanian president’s European style deserves separate notice. During her visit in Ukraine she scheduled meetings with all major presidential candidates. At the press conference with Yushchenko, Grybauskaite had this to say: “During the presidential election the Ukrainian people will have to determine the future they choose and wish to build… Lithuania will always respect their choice and provide as much assistance as Ukraine will wish to have. No one else will be able to do the complicated work that is up to Ukraine and its people.” She stressed that this was a stand taken by both Lithuania and the European community of nations.