Kuchma's chief of staff travels to Washington (07/01/01)

Kuchma's chief of staff travels to Washington

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - President Leonid Kuchma's chief of staff, Volodymyr Lytvyn, was in Washington on June 18-21, discussing developments in Ukraine with U.S. officials, members of Congress and others interested in Ukrainian affairs.

Although it was a non-official visit organized by the Center for Democracy, a non-governmental organization fostering the democratization process in transitional countries, it gave Mr. Lytvyn and other members in his group an opportunity to meet with some senior U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and President Bush's national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice.

Commenting on his visit during a reception at the Embassy of Ukraine on June 20, Mr. Lytvyn said he found in these meetings "a deep knowledge and understanding of developments in Ukraine." Above all, he added, there was "a sincere desire" to help Ukraine overcome its problems, so that it "could finally become the civilized, European country it deserves to be."

Mr. Lytvyn also met with representatives of various think-tanks, non-governmental organizations, businessmen and the media.

He told the Washington Times that he believed that journalist Heorhii Gongadze was killed by those trying to embarrass the president.

"It was a provocation that got out of control," Mr. Lytvyn told the newspaper. "They were aiming at the president and they hit the country's reputation in the world instead."

Ukrainian news wires quoted Mr. Lytvyn as saying that U.S. officials pledged continued support for President Kuchma and his administration in their reform efforts and that they expressed no demands or preconditions for this support.

Asked about Mr. Lytvyn's reported assessment of his Washington talks, a State Department spokesman told Radio Liberty that that may be his assessment, but would not comment further.

Mr. Lytvyn also spoke with editors of the Washington Post, which in an editorial on June 24 noted that he had brought "a long letter to President Bush and an equally long list of requests for aid for his government."

"Though the Gongadze case has never been solved and Mr. Kuchma's role never clarified," the editorial said, "the Ukrainians hope it will now be forgotten."

"That should not be the case," the paper added. While Ukraine's continued independence and stability are important to the West, it must continue to test Ukraine on its economic reforms and the way it embraces democracy and human rights, and "the United States cannot let Mr. Kuchma forget about Mr. Gongadze."

The visiting group of Ukrainian officials accompanying Mr. Lytvyn in Washington included Vasyl Rohovyi, then minister of the economy who after his return from the visit was named deputy prime minister for economic policy, Minister of Culture Yurii Bohutskyi, Education Minister Vasyl Kremen and the president's representative in the Verkhovna Rada Roman Bezsmertnyi.

On the last day of their stay in Washington, Messrs. Bohutskyi, Kremen and Bezsmertnyi and Embassy officials had a meeting with leaders of major Ukrainian American organizations to discuss plans for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, in Ukraine and in the United States.

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