Report on Yanukovych visit to the US

Last week Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych reported to President Viktor Yushchenko on the results of his four-day visit to the US. As the president’s press service announced, during the meeting on Bankivska the head of state and the head of government talked about Yanukovych’s visit to the US and the fulfillment of the directives given by the president for this visit. They also discussed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit as well as the Ukraine-Russia Action Plan for 2007-2008, to be signed during Putin’s visit, and the Declaration of Strategic Partnership.

It looks as if the recent “directive” wrangle between the Ukrainian president and the prime minister is bearing fruit. It is not inconceivable that there will be no questions concerning the necessity to sign directives for the prime minister’s future trips.

The Ukrainian prime minister has a positive view of his overseas visit. “As far as I am concerned, according to the information the president has received, there are no grounds to consider this journey as having negative outcomes for us,” Yanukovych said to journalists after his meeting with President Yushchenko. The prime minister’s milieu is also satisfied with the results of his US visit, one of whose participants, Hanna Herman, even reported that during the meeting with Senator Richard Lugar, the senator called the prime minister his friend and “predicted” that he would stay long in office.

However, the US does not share the Ukrainian prime minister’s optimism. Furthermore, the Americans are questioning Prime Minister Yanukovych’s statements in Washington concerning his intentions to fight corruption and create a favorable investment climate in Ukraine. Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer directed attention to the Ukrainian government’s implementation of export quotas for corn, which are channeling investments away from the agricultural sector.

“The prime minister made several good statements about the struggle against corruption. However, in the last few months we have been receiving information that the tax administration is reverting to a policy of favoritism. The struggle against corruption should also be applied to the tax administration,” Radio Liberty quotes Pifer as saying.

Discussing foreign policy questions, Pifer noted that Ukraine risks losing the dynamic in its relations with NATO, and this may lead to the organization losing interest in Ukraine’s membership. The American diplomat was surprised that during his visit to Washington Yanukovych did not explain whether he sees Ukraine a part of the alliance. Pifer sees the coordination of views on the state’s foreign policies as the main task of Ukrainian officials. “It looks as if there is a competition in the foreign policy sphere. This does not promote trust in the president, the prime minister, and Ukraine,” he stressed.

COMMENTARY

Konstiantyn HRYSHCHENKO, ex-foreign minister:

“The main thing is that during the meetings with American political leaders there was an opportunity to present the Ukrainian government’s program and motivations for the near— and long-term perspective and prove that in the person of the prime minister, who heads the coalition government, they have a reliable partner and can work with him. Meetings took place in all branches of power that are extremely important for our bilateral relations. A crucial part of the visit was Yanukovych’s speech at an investment forum devoted to Ukraine, which was very representative and unique in terms of its participants.

“As for Pifer’s speech, I admit that it should be regarded within a wider context. He also expressed his own opinions and wishes, declaring that it would be important to intensify the message the prime minister gave in his assessment: that there are certain difficulties in the implementation of the anti-corruption program, especially in questions connected with the VAT and establishing quotas. There were practically no questions to the prime minister about this. As for quotas, the government is working on this question and trying to secure market stability in the country, and create transparent and clear game rules both for domestic traders and international companies working in the market.”