Balanced policy?
What does Hillary Clinton expect to hear in Kyiv?
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will pay an official visit to Ukraine in early July. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s website informs that Mrs. Clinton had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko and confirmed her intention of making this official visit on July 4-5, 2010. The agenda includes meetings with President Yanukovych, Foreign Minister Hryshchenko, and other ranking Ukrainian officials.
The Day’s source at the Foreign Ministry, however, notes that the visit’s final day remains to be agreed upon, adding that, while it is true that there is an agreement in principle on the visit, there are no specific instructions because it is too early to discuss the practical aspects of the State Secretary’s visit, or the documents to be prepared. July 4-5 was the date suggested by the American side.
The US Embassy declined to comment on the Ukrainian media reporting the date of Hillary Clinton’s visit and its agenda. The said source noted that the agreement on the visit had been reached earlier, and that the possibility of making it sometime in May had been discussed.
It looks like the initiative came from the American side, considering that State Secretary Clinton will take part in an international conference scheduled for July 2-4 in Cracow. In early May, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with CNN that the US Secretary of State will take part in a top-level meeting commemorating the 10th anniversary of the democratic commonwealth. It was further informed that Hillary Clinton would fly to Finland (this visit was scheduled for April, but canceled because of the Icelandic volcano).
One thing appears obvious: the US Secretary of State has decided to include Ukraine in her European tour. It is standard practice for overseas functionaries visiting Europe to visit several countries one after the next. Another thing is what motivated the visit to Ukraine, considering that Vice President Joe Biden, the US number two executive, visited Ukraine last year, after the new US administration took office, and that now Kyiv will play host to number four.
Ukrainian diplomatic circles characteristically regard Mrs. Clinton’s visit as proof that the United States hasn’t lost interest in Ukraine, also in the economic sphere. Meanwhile, some experts are wondering about this visit being a way to balance the US policy toward Russia. US media stressed that Vice President Biden’s visit last year was to show that Washington remains interested in Ukraine and has no intention of recognizing any spheres of influence in the post-Soviet space.
COMMENTARY
Dr. Samuel Charap, Associate Director for the Russia and Eurasia Program, Center for American Progress:[The following is back translation. — Ed.]
“I believe the agenda of this visit is still to be determined. One thing is clear now: the US stand in regards to Ukraine remains unchanged and consists in supporting reform, democratic development and independence, as laid down in the US-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership, signed in December 2008. Proceeding from the American national interest and the Administration’s intention of putting an end to the false allegation that it has somehow ‘abandoned’ Ukraine, State Secretary Clinton will perhaps want to get concrete results in the course of her visit. It will be interesting to see whether she will be able to express concern about the unpleasant course of events, which has taken place in Ukraine (signs of censorship, the incident at the Ukrainian Catholic University involving the SBU, in regard to which the State Department has issued a statement), while demonstrating strong US support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. However, it will be more interesting and important to see how President Yanukovych and his administration will react. For him it will be a moment of truth. Will he officially declare Ukraine a non-aligned country, sign the agreement prolonging the deployment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet for 25 years, and maintain good relationships with the United States? We won’t know the answer to this until the US Secretary of State celebrates Independence Day in Kyiv.”
