No Kuchma-Bush Meeting: A Signal for Ukraine?

No matter whether a meeting between Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and American President George W. Bush takes place, this should not be considered any signal for Ukraine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Ukraine Carlos Pascual told journalists on September 7. Recall that earlier mass media reported on a possible meeting between Ukrainian and American leaders during the NATO Prague summit scheduled for November 2002. In spite of the fact that George Bush been president for almost two years now, so far there has been no meeting between the heads of Ukraine and the US. This gives grounds to many commentators to assert that the White House has lost interest in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Mr. Pascual stressed that the Prague summit should be viewed in a broader prospective, since intensifying relations between Ukraine and NATO will be discussed there. Speaking about a meeting between Messrs. Kuchma and Bush, Mr. Pascual noted that, besides the Ukrainian president, around forty other countries’ leaders are expected in Prague. The US ambassador observed that Mr. Bush would have to go without sleep to meet them all, reports The Day’s Serhiy SOLODKY. Answering journalists’ questions, Mr. Pascual also said that the US is interested in Ukraine holding an effective investigation on allegations concerning illegal arms supplies to Iraq.