Yushchenko in Washington for discussions with top U.S. officials, foreign policy leaders (02/09/03)

Yushchenko in Washington for discussions with top U.S. officials, foreign policy leaders

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - Viktor Yush-chenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine who now heads the Our Ukraine bloc in the Verkhovna Rada, came to Washington last week to discuss developments in Ukraine and their effect on U.S.-Ukraine relations with senior members of the Bush administration, congressional leaders and other influential members of the Washington foreign policy establishment.

What he found after his first day of meetings, on February 5 - with Vice President Dick Cheney, Sen. John McCain, members of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright - was that the lack of trust between the two countries was lower than it had been at any time over the past 10 years.

On the other hand, he said in an interview with The Ukrainian Weekly, while the officials he met characterized Ukraine as a country that has wasted its potential since independence, they also indicated that the U.S. government "is not indifferent" to the fate of Ukraine as a partner. He said he found a "deep-seated, great interest in Ukraine and a desire to see Ukraine join the 'club of democracies.'"

Arriving with Mr. Yushchenko for the three days of talks in Washington were three of his Our Ukraine colleagues in the Verkhovna Rada: Roman Bezsmertnyi, Yevhen Chervonenko and Oleh Rybachuk. The International Republican Institute, a non-governmental organization whose goal is to foster the growth of democratic institutions worldwide, facilitated their visit scheduling. On the last full day in Washington, Mr. Yushchenko's program included meetings at the State Department with Deputy Secretary Richard L. Armitage and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Mr. Yushchenko said he came to Washington because he wanted to hear what American political leaders think about what is happening in Ukraine. He wanted to see how Ukraine's "serious loss of image and low reputation" resulted in its isolation internationally. He said he recently had similar meetings with leaders in Russia and Poland. The Our Ukraine deputies were scheduled to depart from Washington for Kyiv on Saturday, February 8.

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