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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Seven Years of Strategic Independence

13 November, 2012 - 00:00

The eighth year of Ukrainian independence is starting. Many people are skeptical about it because it seems impossible to be absolutely independent from anything in today's world. The only reasonable question is to what extent is Ukraine independent from external factors?

Ukrainian diplomacy answered this question brilliantly with its reaction to the bombing targets in Afghanistan and Sudan with American missiles. The matter is not that Kyiv fully backed the American reaction – terrorism must be reacted to, and many US European allies approved the US moves. However, London, Bonn, and Paris with their approving statements as well as Moscow with its disapproval reacted immediately. Meanwhile, Kyiv played an evident waiting game until the die-hards expressed their opinion. The support was appreciated properly. Richard Lugar, US Senator from Indiana, made no secret of the fact that Washington would support the IMF decision to allocate a new loan for Ukraine which not in the least depends on the required reaction by Kyiv.

IMF loans for Ukraine are another indicator of independence, for, as it turned out, it will be impossible to stop the hryvnia from collapse without the new loan. Hence, all government moves should be coordinated with the IMF although not one cent of already received loans has not been used to conduct structural reforms and establish competitive production able to back the national currency.

The question about independence would be to the point also while President Kuchma had a talk in Crimea with acting Russian premier Viktor Chernomyrdin. Kuchma's agreement with Chernomyrdin that we should overcome the crisis together looked a bit strange. I mean that the Ukrainian authorities' dependence on what is happening in Russia becomes more than obvious as the presidential election approaches. And the fact that Ukraine has not managed rid itself of its strategic dependence on the Russian market turned out to be not such bad. Thus, it is no wonder that Luzhkov time and again proclaims Sevastopol a Russian city, although nobody has heard him demanding Alaska returning to Russia.

One can cite volumes that the Ukrainian dependence both on the USA, today's only world superpower, and Russia is impartial and list the reasons for this and possible benefits for Kyiv as well. But a country that cannot ultimately define its own course and interests is unlikely to be taken into serious consideration. Of course, there is no way for a big European country to keep playing the role of an obedient calf in the long term, and Kyiv was repeatedly told this. But perhaps in this is the secret of Ukrainian originality?

 

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