ANALYSIS
Condoleezza Rice delivers U.S. message
by Jan Maksymiuk
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report
U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on July 25 met with President Leonid Kuchma and other top officials in Kyiv and delivered a strongly worded warning to Ukraine, saying its integration into Europe depends on democratic reforms, transparent probes into the recent killings of journalists and fair elections.
The national security adviser was the first major policymaker from the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to visit Kyiv; therefore her voice was given particular attention. At a news conference following her talks with Ukrainian officials, Dr. Rice touched upon a wide range of the Bush administration's concerns about Ukraine.
Dr. Rice said it is important for Ukraine to push economic and political reforms simultaneously. Dr. Rice praised progress on economic reforms in Ukraine and said that she heard assurances during talks with President Kuchma and others that Kyiv is firmly on the democratic path. "The leadership of the country realizes that the world is watching over developments in Ukraine," she said.
Dr. Rice confirmed that she discussed the killings of journalists Heorhii Gongadze and Ihor Aleksandrov with Ukrainian leaders, adding that she demanded a full investigation into those murders.
Regarding next year's parliamentary elections in Ukraine, she said: "The world will be watching the elections in 2002, and not just on the day of the election but throughout the campaign to be sure that all voices have the opportunity to be heard." Answering a journalist's question as to whether she believes that the Ukrainian government will match its promises with deeds, Dr. Rice said: "We are not so easily fooled. The United States knows a free election when it sees one. It knows a free campaign when it sees one."
Jan Maksymiuk is the Belarus, Ukraine and Poland specialist on the staff of RFE/RL Newsline.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 5, 2001, No. 31, Vol. LXIX
| Home Page |