Letters from Ukraine about the Membership Action Plan

The Ukrainian government seems to be learning from its mistakes and pursuing a more transparent foreign policy. Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko have sent letters to NATO’s secretary-general, the French president, and the German chancellor, requesting them to allow Ukraine to join the Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the NATO summit in Bucharest. When the president, the prime minister, and parliamentary speaker sent a similar request to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Ukrainian public learned about it from the US Senator Richard Lugar. This time, the letters were posted without any accompanying scandal on President Yushchenko’s Web site last Tuesday evening.

It is no surprise that the letters were sent to none other than President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. The leaders of these two countries have made it clear that Ukraine is not prepared for the MAP. While France emphasizes Ukraine’s insufficient reforms in the defense sector, the German side points out lack of support for NATO membership in Ukrainian society.

The authors of the latest letters focus on the latter problem. “The insufficient level of public support for a strategic course towards closer Euro-Atlantic integration is a matter of unending concern for the government of Ukraine. We are aware of the importance of bringing unbiased information about the goals and tasks of the renewed NATO to the people, some of whom are still in thrall to Soviet-era stereotypes. Drawing on the experience of countries affected by the previous waves of NATO expansion, this year the government of Ukraine markedly increased the funding of its information efforts,” the letter states.

The authors voice the conviction that “a clear Euro-Atlantic choice and the additional benefit that Ukraine will derive from the MAP format will allow us to ensure support for this course by those people who have not yet made their own well-considered choice.”

As for the doubts expressed by some alliance members, as well as the demand that this process must enjoy the support of Ukraine’s main political forces and society, Yushchenko and Tymoshenko say that “the political parties that formed the ruling coalition and thus assumed responsibility for the future of Ukraine and its people have clearly expressed their joint viewpoint about Ukraine activating its relations with NATO by joining the MAP. This viewpoint is recorded in the Coalition Agreement and the Government Program. We see this as a question of the strategic course, independence, and freedom of Ukraine rather than a tactical ploy.”

In the letters to Sarkozy and Merkel, Yushchenko and Tymoshenko point out the possibility of establishing the existing irreversibility of Ukraine’s Euro- Atlantic choice by inviting our state to join the MAP during the NATO summit in Bucharest. The two Ukrainian leaders also expressed the hope that such influential countries as France and Germany, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a whole, “will support a positive NATO decision on this matter, with due account of the above-mentioned and the security interests of the Euro-Atlantic space in general.”

This now raises the question whether it was too late for the top-ranking Ukrainian leaders to write these letters and talk about a consolidated position concerning NATO, particularly the MAP. We will know soon enough whether Kyiv’s arguments made an impression on Paris, Berlin, and Brussels. The NATO summit is in two weeks.

COMMENTARIES

Will these letters make the right impression on Sarkozy, Merkel, and the NATO secretary general and prompt them to grant Ukraine the MAP in Bucharest?

Anatolii ZLENKO, ex-foreign minister of Ukraine:

“I think these letters reflect the consistent policy that our leadership is pursuing towards Euro- Atlantic integration. Under the current circumstances, which are none too clear, these letters are intended to downplay the confusion and misunderstandings surrounding the domestic political situation and public opinion, and perhaps to hinder consensus in society. I think this is an explanation and confirmation of the irreversible course towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

“It is difficult for me to say to what extent the letters will influence Sarkozy and Merkel, but once again they show our leadership’s devotion to the chosen Euro-Atlantic course, and this can, of course, make a certain impression on the representatives of those countries that still have not reached a final decision on Ukraine joining the MAP.”

Valerii CHALY, deputy director-general of the Razumkov Center:

“The letters are an important step confirming the united position of the president, the government, and the prime minister on the importance of achieving the goals that are enshrined both in the laws of Ukraine and are reflected in the Coalition Agreement and the Government Program. I think that, above all, these letters are important for people in Ukraine to realize that today the government is united and consolidated with respect to these goals. It is not about joining NATO today, it is about Ukraine being prepared for broader transformations not only in the military sphere but in other spheres of the state’s development. I see it, first of all, as a signal to civil society in our country that the government is prepared for a more responsible mission. If this signals a deliberate and qualitatively new attitude to the Euro-Atlantic integration information campaign, we will finally be able to hold a serious debate on the optimal model of collective security in Ukraine.

“As for the foreign dimension, Ukraine has made its position known many times both through correspondence and diplomatic efforts. So Ukraine’s position is very well known in European capitals. I do not think it will be a critical loss or a tragedy if Ukraine is not fully provided with this format in Bucharest. But it would be equally undesirable to lose time. This issue is also linked with another point: to what extent does NATO link the decision on Ukraine’s integration with Russia’s position and other factors that have no direct bearing on Ukraine-NATO relations. So this is sort of a test for whether the NATO strategy is successful. In fact, Ukraine is sending messages today in response to some critics who claim that Ukraine does not have a consolidated position on the MAP. It is important to emphasize here that accession to NATO, which will be implemented, if it happens, after a referendum, should not be linked today with the mechanism of intensified integration-related cooperation. In my view, this is the message of these letters.

“I can say exactly how civic organizations will receive this message. For them, it is a joint message of the president and the prime minister about an entirely different kind of informational work inside Ukraine in order to shatter stereotypes and explain the government’s position. I think that these two elements are more important than any deadlines or emphases on the speed of integration into NATO.

“There should be powerful lobbying mechanisms in order to influence the position of European capitals or important countries on the evolution of European security. In all probability, the efforts of Ukrainian government institutions alone will not be sufficient. That is why initiatives are coming from, among others, the non-governmental sector, which is convinced that transforming the country by means of the MAP mechanism is an important element of accelerating reforms in Ukraine. A group of non-governmental analytical experts is now visiting Berlin and Paris to explain the viewpoint of Ukraine’s civil society. I think this is also one of the elements that can clarify the situation more impartially and which will have an impact not only on the question of granting the MAP but also on the formation of a positive image for our country in Europe.”