NEW FOREIGN MINISTER MAY SAVE UKRAINE’S FACE

Replacement of the Foreign Minister is an event of great importance for any given country and its neighbors. In the case with Ukraine, its importance affects the foreign political domain, of course.

And so Hennady Udovenko, a “man of consensus” as he once described himself, was replaced by Borys Tarasiuk. Curiously, the latter’s profile is not as detailed as it might seem.

The official story is that Mr. Udovenko made up his mind, to become a professional parliamentarian, and that with Mr. Tarasiuk taking over Ukraine’s foreign policy will retain its tradition of continuity, at least such statements were made by President Kuchma, Premier Pustovoitenko, NSDC Chairman Horbulin, and, of course, Messrs. Udovenko and Tarasiuk.

This, however, does not answer the question what is actually to be retained. The much advertised “multivector” foreign political course proved to be very much like a man driving under the influence, with the car swerving, skidding, in this case every such jerky movement caused by whomever the President spoke with last. In other words, here everything is determined by whose interests are uppermost in the Chief Executive’s mind at a given time.

It came to the point that Ukraine’s many “strategic partners,” both the Big Brother up north and those across the seas, demanded that Kyiv explain exactly where all those “vectors” were pointed. Indeed, how can a country be considered an influential European power while unable (and unwilling) to control its own sea frontiers or pretend to act as an equal partner and yielding to the slightest pressure from those same strategic partners?

Apparently, the current political leadership has finally realized the implications. Mr. Tarasiuk seems to have developed a clear picture of Ukraine’s interests (much was said and written about protecting them when he was Deputy and then First Deputy Foreign Minister, so the time would seem ripe for actually doing something in this area). The problem is, whether Mr. Tarasiuk will be able to put together a team professional, mobile, and patriotic enough to resist daily pressure from all the gray cardinals of Ukrainian politics.

And so what is actually meant is not maintaining “continuity” but an attempt to save the foreign political domain, something the Kuchma team was so proud of, from complete collapse.

Foreign Minister Tarasiuk seems in no hurry to make public his rescue plan (although he has said enough to indicate that there is such a plan). Probably the extent to which this plan can be put into effect will finally shape the Ukrainian visage in the eyes of the international community and will make Europe believe that Kyiv really sees its strategic goal in joining Ukraine to the European structures, working to this end by following a consistent (instead of “multi-vectored”) and predictable political course.

Or will Kyiv continue to make the best of an increasingly worse game, while capital flees the country, the train of Europe passes by at full speed, and Kyiv obediently by turns carries out whatever orders come from Moscow and Washington?