By Viktor ZAMYATIN, The Day
The new diplomatic year in Ukraine has begun with inspections. The United
States of America is still assuring the world that it supports Ukraine's
independence and sovereignty and wishes to help it achieve prosperity,
but first wants to make certain that Ukraine deserves it. The aid was assessed
as $195 million, $30 million less than last year. The inspection also known
as certification will last until February 18, when Congress will hold hearings
with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, while now Washington representatives
maintain that they have heard too many words and would like to see some
concrete actions. Only after the hearings and Congressional approval can
Ukraine expect to receive the aid in full.
In the past three years the US has generously aided Poland, the Czech
Republic, Hungary, and the Baltic states. Never did we hear about any kind
of preconditions or annual inspections. In the case of Ukraine it all came
to a scandal last year, when Congressmen voiced their disappointment with
Ukrainian reforms and the Ukrainian investment climate. They might have
been accused of bias and lobbying the interests of nothing but American
business if European and Japanese leaders were not saying the same thing.
The US still remains only a symbol: if a state can help itself, we will
help it, too. Credit from the International Monetary Fund is also an indicator
for the outside world: if it continues, if the loans are big enough, then
we can say that this country is really developing and will be able to repay
the loans in due time. Another IMF mission is now inspecting Ukraine to
determine if it is worthy to receive new loans without which large-scale
foreign investment is hardly possible. All those now striving for European
Union membership used to opt for IMF credit. The Czech Republic and Slovakia,
for example, used it long ago, paid off their debts, and forgot it altogether.
In their case, the aid did not look like beating a dead horse.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds it all too hard to keep
a good mien, when it is common knowledge that things are far from perfect
in our society. Annual US inspections in and frequent IMF missions to Ukraine
illustrate vividly that the world does not trust our word. This is not
the case when contracts can be signed on a paper napkin. And this is one
of our real "gains" in the years of independence.
It is not only the US and the European Union that do not trust us. Our
nearest neighbors announce that they will have to introduce visa requirement
for Ukraine once they become EU members, while most European countries
maintain visa-free relations with Switzerland which does not join any alliances.
Meanwhile, European integration looks all the more like pie in the sky
for Ukraine.






