Swedes Know Where Poltava Is Located And Want To Stay in Ukraine Forever
“Relations between Ukraine and Sweden have always been very good, but they have never been cordial due to, among other things, not too frequent meeting between heads of our states,” Sweden’s Ambassador to Ukraine Ake Petersson declared, speaking at a press conference on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kyiv and Stockholm. Simultaneously, Swed en is among the few countries which consistently makes efforts to develop its links with Ukraine despite the fact that we are not neighbors. How successful these efforts will be largely depends on the Ukrainian side.
“Sweden does not view itself as Ukraine’s friend who turns a blind eyes to things that should be criticized. Friends that opt to criticize and make use of this are much more serious,” the Swedish ambassador said. In Sweden, questions about the freedom of expression and the press in Ukraine are asked, but this does not mean that developments in Ukraine should be viewed only as negative or positive, he added. There is no doubt, he continued, that the March elections in Ukraine will be democratic. Whether these expectations are true is to be confirmed by three Swedish observers coming to Ukraine on the OSCE team. Observers from the Swedish and European parliaments might also come. According to His Excellency, “Stockholm sees Ukraine as it is and not in the light of other developments.” He went on to say that Ukraine can develop faster and become a catalyst for some of Russia’s branches of industry.
On Ukrainian markets the Swedes feel that they are on a par with other Western investors. As the ambassador noted, Swedish investments in Ukraine have shrunk following the first five years of cooperation. Lack of headway in passing democratic legislation frightened off Swedish investors from Ukrainian enterprises, although there has been a slight rebound of interest in the last two years. The total Swedish investment for the entire ten years of Ukraine’s independence has been only $75 million. But where the Swedes invested money they meant business. Many Ukrainian might have heard about Lutsk’s SKF ball bearings, Tetrapak, and Chumak. At present, in addition to such hurdles for Western investors in Ukraine as its eternally changing legislation, heavy taxes, etc., another problem for the Swedes is the VAT. Swedish companies operating in Ukraine would like to export their goods, not merely sell them in Ukraine, but the existing VAT collection procedure inhibits them.
Sweden’s cooperation with Ukraine in the humanitarian area is remarkable in scale. Sida, Sweden’s state agency for issues of international cooperation and development, finances programs related to migration and the provision of asylum, nonproliferation and control of nuclear materials, managerial reform, gender-related issues, penitentiary system, border control, development of private farming, education of journalists, energy conservation, environmental management system, to name but a few.
The recently signed agreement with Ukraine’s Finance Ministry, the mayor of Lviv, and Lviv Water and Sewage Utility Company on a Sida $4.8 million grant to modernize Lviv’s water supply and sewage systems is a real feather in the cap of Sida Deputy Director Stefan Gerstrome and the agency’s Ukrainian staff: first, because the talks on this project took five long years, and second, the grant money will go to buy Swedish equipment for the local water and sewage company that will resolve a thorny problem for this city. As Sida employees stressed, located on the Baltic-Black Seas watershed, Lviv’s runoff sewage system affects the cleanliness of the Baltic Sea. Incidentally, Sida runs similar environmental programs in Estonia, Latvia, Russia, and Poland.
Another Sida program in Ukraine is to teach modern farming techniques in Kherson oblast. Interestingly, the village of Staroshvedske, or Hammalsvenskbu in Swedish, founded in the eighteenth century by Swedish settlers is located in this oblast. With a population of fifty, no official assistance to its residents comes from Sweden, Ambassador Petersson stated. “They cannot be entitled to privileges only because they are ethnic Swedes,” the ambassador emphasized. Stockholm keeps track of such people, believing, however, that the Swedish diaspora living in other countries are, first and foremost, residents of these states and can receive help only within the framework of programs on cooperation and assistance between Sweden and their specific countries.
Actually, the Baltic states dominated the press conference. Sweden wants to apply in Ukraine its experience of cooperation with neighboring Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. For example, Stockholm’s cooperation with Tallinn, Mr. Gerstrome said, needs no additional impulse and help from Sida; it is quite sustainable. He stressed that experts from the Baltic states can advise Ukraine on how to ensure a higher level of cooperation, and Sida is ready to assist Kyiv to begin any such dialog with them. It is important that both Ukraine and Baltic states show an interest in this dialog.
Recently, Ambassador Petersson noted, the historical links between Ukraine and Sweden have been increasingly in the public eye in Sweden. “The Battle of Poltava catches more attention than before because Swedes now know where Poltava is located,” he explained, adding that the Swedish embassy is going to hold an exhibition in both countries on the Viking presence in what is now Ukraine. Meanwhile, the banner of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky presently kept in one of Sweden’s archives will be delivered to Ukraine to be shown as part of the exhibition called the Personal Effects of Bohdan Khmelnytsky From European Museums. But no concerts of popular Swedish musical groups will take place soon, the ambassador clarified. “Our work is not as loud as their songs, but we are committed to remain in Ukraine for good,” the ambassador remarked to disappointed music lovers.
