Turning the pages back... March 3, 1996 (03/02/03)

Turning the pages back...

March 3, 1996

Seven years ago on March 3, the pages of this newspaper were filled with reports about President Leonid Kuchma's highly successful visit to the United States. Mr. Kuchma told journalists in Kyiv on February 24, 1996, that U.S.-Ukrainian relations had reached a new stage, as "the U.S. considers Ukraine a strategic partner." The two-day whirlwind visit included 17 high-level meetings and 12 discussions with the press.

Meeting with the Ukrainian and foreign media one day after his return from Washington, the president noted that the trip was "a working visit to receive political and economic support from both U.S. President Bill Clinton and other government officials, as well as leaders of international financial institutions." The United States is also interested in good, normal relations between Ukraine and Russia, explained Mr. Kuchma, which means that the U.S. is committed to supporting a sovereign, independent Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader also informed the press that he was very satisfied with meetings with the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), chaired by Ruth Harkin. "We met with top-ranking U.S. companies ... There is a great interest and desire by Americans to invest American capital in Ukraine," he noted.

Also during his U.S. visit, President Kuchma was honored by Freedom House as the 43rd recipient of its annual Freedom Award at a banquet held on February 21.

Back in Kyiv, President Kuchma reflected on the visit, comparing it to his official state visit to Washington in November 1994, four months after his election to the post of president. "These were two very different visits," noted Mr. Kuchma. "I personally felt that now Ukraine is viewed as a state with an important role - one that guarantees stability, first of all in Europe." He added: "Very serious changes have occurred in our relations," explaining that scheduled 30-minute meetings with President Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, ran 65 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively.

"Now, the rest is up to us and how we will conduct our policy," he underlined.

Sources: "Kuchma points to concrete progress in expanding U.S.-Ukraine relations," by Marta Kolomayets, Kyiv Press Bureau, and "Kuchma receives 43rd Freedom Award," by Khristina Lew, both in The Ukrainian Weekly, March 3, 1996, Vol. LXIV, No. 9.

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