Congressional delegation visits Ukraine (02/20/05)

Congressional delegation visits Ukraine

by Olga Nuzhinskaya
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - A U.S. congressional delegation that included the two prominent U.S. senators who nominated Ukraine's president for the Nobel Peace Prize, visited Ukraine on Friday, February 11.

The 11-member delegation of members of the Senate and House of Representatives, among whom were Sens. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain, met with President Viktor Yushchenko to discuss ways to strengthen U.S.-Ukraine relations, spur the development of democratic values and attract foreign investment.

The group also met with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn. Ms. Tymoshenko later told the press that the members of the U.S. Congress had said that the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Ukraine will be canceled as soon as politically possible for such a step. "I don't think we will have to wait for long," she added. The prime minister said the issue was discussed during a luncheon with the senators and representatives.

In a joint press conference with Mr. Lytvyn, Sen. McCain stated that the U.S. Congress in the near future intends to discuss cancellation of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the 1974 Trade Act, and he noted that President George W. Bush supports the move to lift the amendment's restrictions on trade with Ukraine. Repealing the Jackson-Vanik provisions with regard to Ukraine would pave the way for the granting of permanent normal trade relations status with the United States.

Sen. Clinton, a liberal Democrat from New York and the wife of former President Bill Clinton, and Sen. McCain, a Republican from Arizona, last month nominated President Yushchenko and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili for the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize is awarded annually in the fall.

In their nomination letter, the U.S. senators commended both presidents for winning "popular support for the universal values of democracy, individual liberty and civil rights." Both men came to power after mass demonstrations protesting fraudulent votes in their countries.

"Both presidents not only deserve that recognition on behalf of themselves, but they are really being nominated because of what they, together with the people of Georgia and Ukraine, have done," Sen. Clinton told journalists in Kyiv.

"So the Peace Prize, should it be awarded, will be accepted by the presidents, but it will really have been earned by the people of this country and of Georgia," she added.

Other members of the U.S. delegation visiting Kyiv were: Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Reps. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), Jane Harman (D-Calif.), Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Mark Udall (R-Utah) and Joe Schwarz (R-Mich.).

During their meeting President Yushchenko and the U.S. lawmakers talked about the Ukrainian leader's pledge to find a place for his nation of 48 million in the European Union. Mr. Yushchenko expressed hope that other countries would support Ukraine's European aspirations.

The European Union has said that it is not yet ready to discuss membership with Ukraine, telling Kyiv that its priority now should be to enact deep political and economic reforms.

The U.S. delegation and Ukraine's leaders also discussed Ukraine's plans to withdraw its 1,650 peacekeepers from Iraq this year. President Yushchenko told the U.S. lawmakers that Ukraine would first carry out political consultations with its coalition partners and the Iraqi government. Ukraine has already lost 16 soldiers in Iraq and its involvement in the U.S.-led peacekeeping mission is deeply unpopular among Ukrainians.

In talks with Rada Chairman Lytvyn, Sen. McCain said they also discussed assistance in the clean-up of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster and U.S. assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to join the World Trade Organization and the European Union.

"We received support and hope that everything will be as Ukraine wants," said Prime Minister Tymoshenko.

During the visit Sens. McCain and Lieberman wore the orange-colored scarfs of the Yushchenko campaign.

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