No rose-colored glasses for Yatseniuk

Arsenii Yatseniuk has been Ukraine’s foreign minister for more than two months. Ukrainians would naturally like to know about the style, intentions, and logic behind the actions of their country’s topmost diplomat, all the more so as this is the first time that the foreign ministry is headed by a person who has never been a career diplomat.

Yatseniuk partly showed his cards when he spoke with some print journalists. He noted that he is not inclined to alter Ukraine’s foreign policy and is generally very skeptical about the necessity of introducing any radical changes. He emphasized, however, that as foreign minister he will be trying to impart more realism and pragmatism to Ukraine’s aspirations to integrate with such organizations as the EU.

“Rose-colored glasses are absolutely out of place in this connection. First and foremost, we should tell the people that there will be no European Union either today or tomorrow. Early EU membership is very doubtful. Even if Ukraine brilliantly fulfills the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU and carries out all the reforms very quickly, EU enlargement will still be a problem,” the minister admitted.

YOUNG PEOPLE AS A MEANS OF EU INTEGRATION

The minister reminded his listeners that the European Union has quite a few problems to deal with, so Ukraine is not exactly a priority issue for Brussels. On the other hand, there are numerous objections concerning Ukraine, including its political maturity, which is indispensable for joining any kind of union. Secondly, there is a long list of unresolved problems with our neighbors, including the Russian Federation. “The EU does not need a country that has a ‘vague’ relationship with Russia,” Yatseniuk said. Thirdly, there is a problem of national unity.

Another important factor is that reforms should not be a purely declarative issue. “We must say clearly what kind of state we want to build. Are we building a classic market-economy country or a market-economy country with some elements of socialism?” he noted.

The minister is thoroughly convinced that you do not promote Ukraine’s integration and bilateral relations through bureaucratic announcements. Above all, it is people — in our case, young people — who are envoys of integration. Therefore, this requires the right educational programs and free movement. This is in fact what the minister was doing on his visits to the EU, the US, and Canada, where he asked the leaders of those countries to update educational exchange programs with Ukraine.

NO SPIN IN OUR RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA

Ukraine’s foreign minister believes that our country should build its relations with Russia on the principles of pragmatism and mutual advantage. At the same time he opposes Ukrainian-Russian diplomatic relations being formed on the pages of newspapers. “The whole cartload of current Ukrainian-Russian problems must be resolved in closed rooms. What we will be saying to each other in those closed rooms is a different question. What matters for Ukraine is the result. We don’t need spin today,” Yatseniuk emphasized.

Ukraine would also not like to be a tool in someone else’s hands as far as Ukrainian-Russian relations are concerned. “We are worthy of pursuing our own policy toward Russia because there is interdependence in our relations with Russia. And it cannot be said that Russia has a decisive impact on Ukraine. This may have been the case 20 or 10 years ago,” the foreign minister said.

Broaching the resolution of problems that exist in Ukrainian-Russian relations, Yatseniuk offered his own approach to solving them. First, Ukrainian-Russian relations should reject any kind of radicalism. Second, there is a great degree of convergence, and even more interdependence between the two countries. Third, economic interests must prevail over political declarations. Fourth, relations should be clearly spelled out in legal terms and be based on appropriate treaties and laws. According to the minister, Kyiv should now enter into negotiations with Russia about signing 17 agreements pursuant to the 1997 Comprehensive Treaty. To a large extent this will help clarify certain clauses in this treaty.

Yatseniuk also stressed that Ukrainian-Russian bilateral relations will uphold the principle of reciprocity. “We will be supporting their ethnic minorities in exchange for them supporting Ukrainians in Russia,” he noted.

RELATIONS WITH SAME-LINE PLAYERS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is well aware that Ukraine cannot play its own geopolitical game and stand on a par with the US, Russia, and the EU. Nevertheless, Yatseniuk thinks that our country can be a second-line player and should therefore orient itself toward countries of comparable size. In his opinion, GUAM is not a bad option in principle. Ukraine would like very much to be heard in big-time politics via this regional organization. But the problem is to fill GUAM with a concrete economic component.

“If GUAM were to take a common stand on a number of foreign political issues, have true economic interdependence and an impact on other related markets, this organization would be a player too,” said Yatseniuk. He thinks that Ukraine should focus its attention on some countries in the East, Africa, and Latin America, which are risky but attractive at the same time. “These are markets that we can enter. Moreover, these are countries that need political support not only from the G8 but also from countries like Ukraine. We are very carefully considering the question of cooperating with these countries,” the minister said.

THE TRANSIT TRUMP CARD

It is too early to say that the doctrine of economy-based foreign relations, revived by Yatseniuk, is bearing fruit. At the same time sources in Ukraine’s foreign ministry sources do not think that we suffered a defeat at the Cracow summit. At the time there was a summit taking place in Turkmenistan, where the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan signed a declaration to build a gas pipeline across Russia. A source claims that Ukraine managed to have the words “transit space” included in the Cracow Declaration. The Ukrainian foreign ministry also believes that the Cracow summit was a success because it triggered such a reaction in some countries that their leaders rushed to the Polish city.

The foreign ministry is actively pursuing the policy of transit space, capitalizing on Ukraine’s monopoly on transit. Kyiv will thus try to dictate its own rules until a single energy space, one that would include the EU, is established. “We should be the promoters of this venture because 80 percent of gas is being exported to Europe through our pipelines. With all due respect for consumers, we still have a transit system of our own. Not to use this opportunity today means losing all our chances tomorrow,” the ministry source said.

AT A LOSS FOR WORDS

All countries know that domestic policy influences foreign policy. Ukraine is no exception, and the new foreign minister is perfectly aware of this. As he confessed, his mission in the past two months has been to travel around the world explaining that what is going on in Ukraine is normal. “But I will say frankly that I began to feel at a loss for words. It is impossible to have a stable and easy-to-grasp foreign policy if things are in disarray inside the country. What is going on inside cannot be an unending story. We have brawled a little, become somewhat democratic, but now it’s time to reach a common denominator. In the short term there are no negative consequences. But there will surely be questions to Ukraine in the medium term. It’s OK if this lasts for a month or two, but if the conflict drags on, nobody will take us seriously,” the minister emphasized.

A WHIFF OF SMOLENSKAIA SQUARE

Yatseniuk believes that in the 15 years of independence the foreign ministry has failed to become an absolutely normal, healthy, and full- fledged ministry of independent Ukraine. “There is still a whiff coming from Smolenskaia Square (Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Ed.),” he said.

The Ukrainian foreign minister thinks the world has changed radically over the past 10 years. “But we are still living by the standards of the old, understaffed ministry that is unable to perform the required functions. For the ministry to be European, we should clean up the ‘stables.’ The ministry needs funds to pay salaries, offset capital expenses, increase and reformat the network,” Yatseniuk noted.