Presidents Kuchma and Bush meet, briefly, at NATO summit (07/04/04)

Presidents Kuchma and Bush meet, briefly, at NATO summit

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma and U.S. President George W. Bush finally sat down and talked to one another - even if it only involved a few passing phrases.

The two were seated near one another at the official banquet given on June 28 for the nearly 30 state leaders present for the NATO Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. They were separated only by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom in the alphabetical-by-country seating of the leaders.

The fact that the two presidents have not met at least once during Mr. Bush's first term has been the subject of much speculation in political circles in Kyiv for a long time. Most pundits believed that Mr. Bush did not want to meet with a Ukrainian president who had been accused of corruption, of selling missile detection systems to Iraq before the war and of being complicit in the disappearance of a Ukrainian journalist who was later found dead.

With Ukraine's extensive involvement in the U.S.-led Iraq stabilization force, which was pasted together by Washington with some difficulty, attitudes within the White House regarding the Ukrainian leadership have changed.

Just before the beginning of the NATO dinner, Presidents Kuchma and Bush engaged in a short exchange as part of a three-way conversation that included Polish Prime Minister Alexander Kwasniewski, Ukrainian news media reported. It was not stated whether the conversation involved anything more than general greetings.

While the annual two-day NATO summit concentrated its efforts on how it would absorb new member-states and on how NATO forces could help train an Iraqi army, there was also room on the agenda for Ukraine, which is not a NATO member but has a special relationship with the defense organization as a result of a charter signed between the two in Lisbon in 1998.

Mr. Bush took part in a special session on NATO-Ukraine relations, held the second day of the summit. That session, just like the brief conversation between the Ukrainian and the U.S. presidents at the banquet the evening before, brought no unexpected developments.

Ukraine was lauded for its extensive contributions to international peacekeeping, including its role in the Iraq stabilization force, and was given credit for beginning structural and organizational reform of its military.

Nonetheless, the country received no hint as to when it could become eligible for membership in NATO. The most often uttered phrase by NATO leaders was that the country must first to attain strong democratic values, further develop rule of law and, most importantly in the short term, hold free and fair presidential elections in October.

During his address to the Ukraine-NATO conference, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer unequivocally stated that Ukraine had a ways to go before an invitation could be considered.

"Ukraine's current development does not present an opportunity to begin talks on its membership in the North Atlantic alliance," said Mr. Scheffer.

He sounded an optimistic note as well, praising the country for its active involvement in NATO affairs and its determination to achieve membership.

"It is good that you are present. We give you your due with regard to your activities and your participation in various operations," said Mr. Scheffer. "Ukraine is doing good work, but do not forget that further integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions requires the defense and support of certain values which are basic to NATO - values that NATO has defended for decades and continues to defend involve the rule of law, open and honest elections, an independent mass media free from pressure."

During his presentation President Kuchma expressly agreed with the NATO secretary general that Ukraine had a ways to go before it met NATO criteria. Mr. Kuchma said Ukraine had yet to achieve the social, political and military standards that NATO requires.

He noted that the recent explosions at an arms depot in Melitopil showed that Ukraine also needs additional aid from the West to recycle its huge cache of light arms and ammunition scattered about the country.

"Ukraine and NATO have excellent, constructive relations, but the current development in the Ukrainian economy, of civil society and the need to fulfill certain criteria to achieve membership do not allow Ukraine and NATO to discuss a specific date," Mr. Kuchma admitted.

Nonetheless, Mr. Kuchma underscored that Ukraine's strong economic development of the last five years and its achievements in carrying out democratic and economic reforms was sufficient reason to raise the level of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO to the top levels.

The Ukrainian president also emphasized that it remains important for NATO to maintain an open-door policy in its relationship with Ukraine.

He responded to fears in the West that the October 31 presidential elections in Ukraine could be compromised by assuring NATO members that foreign observers would have proper conditions to carry out their work.

"We expect only one thing: objective evaluation of the events in Ukraine and an adequate effort in disseminating that information to the international community," explained the Ukrainian president.

One of the main focuses of the NATO-Ukraine summit was a review of a new military doctrine, which was presented by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense at the beginning of June and signed by President Kuchma on June 15.

The defense doctrine is defined as "a set of ruling principles of military-political, military-economic and military-engineering views on the provisions of state security," according to Interfax-Ukraine.

The document notes that currently Ukraine does not consider any country a military threat, but could change its stance should a country or group of countries pursue unfriendly policies that could be construed as a threat to its military security.

Enumerated within a list of policies that should be pursued to further defense security, the document lists "the pursuit of a Euro-Atlantic policy, whose final purpose is to join NATO as the basis for a general European security system." Also on the list is "the completion of the contractual and legal formalization and upgrading of the state borders of Ukraine."

While the defense doctrine asserts that membership in NATO and the European Union are vital to Ukraine's security interests, it also mentions the need for involvement in regional security structures.

It states that the country upholds the supremacy of law and supports negotiated peaceful means in resolving conflicts. The document notes that the president is the head of Ukraine's armed forces; is responsible for state security; and is the guarantor of the country's sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its Constitution, as well as human rights and freedoms. The doctrine underscores civilian control over the military and law enforcement bodies.

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