Ukraine begins preparing for the Year of Poland

Official preparations have started in Kyiv for the Year of Poland in Ukraine. President Leonid Kuchma signed an order according to which this long-term event is to deepen the strategic partnership of the two neighbor countries.

Special for preparing and conducting the Year of Poland in Ukraine, an organizing committee was created, headed by Vice Premier Dmytro Tabachnyk. Within one month the schedule of events for a year’s period will be coordinated with the Polish side. Last Friday Poland’s Minister of Culture Waldemar Dюabrowski came to Kyiv on a visit, in course of which he discussed with Ukrainian high officials, among other issues, conducting the Year of Ukraine in Poland in 2005. During his recent press conference, Polish Ambassador Marek Ziolkowski said that the Year of Poland in Ukraine would be solemnly opened by Presidents Aleksandr Kwasniewski and Leonid Kuchma on April 1. According to the diplomat, within the framework of this event the Polish leader will come to Ukraine on a three-days visit. Ambassador Ziolkowski also said that several dozen cultural events are scheduled for this year. There will be 15 or 16 trade shows, starting with the economic forum with the participation of the presidents that takes place every year. The traditional Business Poland 2004 show will this time take place in Kharkiv in September. Last year Donetsk hosted a similar show. “An important part of this event is cooperation between Ukraine’s and Poland’s cities which in the last decade has been developing very actively, turning into a true friendship of hundreds of Polish and Ukrainian cities,” the ambassador said.

It seems that Poland is trying to prove the strategic character of its relations with Ukraine not only on the bilateral level. During his visit to Washington President Kwasniewski did not neglect to discuss with the US leadership the issues of cooperation with Ukraine. One can only guess what was the backstage part and nuances of the talks between Poland’s president and his host. However, the joint statement by the US and Polish leaders confirms their preparedness to further assist Ukraine in promoting its democratic reforms and also free integration into the European community. “We will work together to promote democratic and free market reforms in wider Europe, particularly in Ukraine and Georgia, as they strive to strengthen their integration with the Euro-Atlantic community,” reads the joint statement placed on the White House’s official web site (www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040127-4.html). The statement also says that the US and Poland are intended to strengthen their cooperation with Ukraine and Poland in the sphere of fighting new challenges and threats. This subject will be discussed, in part, at the April NATO summit in Istanbul. Interestingly, Ukraine is mentioned in the statement, once coupled with Georgia and once with Russia. Considering that Ukraine’s political situation cannot be compared to Georgia’s, as well as Kyiv and Moscow’s intentions regarding NATO, such a tandem is in a way an alarming symptom. However, one can perhaps make allowances for the fact that such documents are supposed to be very brief in their form, hence, it is hard to work through all details to satisfy everyone. Anyway, the signed document is very important, especially if one reads it using the “language of signals.” The first signal obviously consists in that the West will closely follow the presidential campaign in Ukraine. Second, Kyiv can count on open dialog with its partner at the Istanbul summit. At least, its level should be no lower than the one between the NATO and Russia.