FOR THE RECORD: Letters on the eve of the G-8 summit: Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (07/23/06)

FOR THE RECORD: Letters on the eve of the G-8 summit

Ukrainian Congress Committee of America

Following is the text of a letter sent by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America to President George W. Bush on July 10 in reference to the G-8 summit.

Dear Mr. President:

In 1932-1933, in what is now a well-documented act of genocide, the USSR's Russian-dominated government headed by Joseph Stalin, under the guise of communism's war against the middle-class peasants, withheld food from Ukraine, starving to death 20 percent of Ukraine's population - more than 7 million Ukrainian farmers and their families - including 3 million women and children.

Nearly 75 years later, another Russian government, headed by Vladimir Putin, now under the guise of capitalism, is again threatening to withhold another vital commodity from Ukraine - energy in the forms of petroleum and natural gas that are needed to heat the people's homes and run the country's economic engine.

Mr. President, the Russian-instigated natural gas crisis in Ukraine at the beginning of 2006 brought devastating effects to the Ukrainian economy. The sudden and inexplicable increase in natural gas prices affected not just Ukraine but many of our European allies, as well. Moreover, President Vladimir Putin shamelessly has been trying to blame Ukraine for the consequences on Europe of his withholding gas to Ukraine.

With this year's confrontation still fresh in everyone's memory, yet another storm is brewing. On July 1, 2006, the current gas deal between Russia and Ukraine supposedly expired, whereby Russia will be pushing for further increases in prices. Any new increases will inevitably damage Ukraine's economy and stem its economic growth.

If Russia were today a normal democratically oriented society, its claim to what it calls a fair market price for gas might be considered legitimate. While in Vilnius earlier this year, Vice-President Dick Cheney acknowledged the back-sliding of democratic tendencies in the Russian Federation: "Yet in Russia today, opponents of reform are seeking to reverse the gains of the last decade ... Other actions by the Russian government have been counterproductive, and could begin to affect relations with other countries. No legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become the tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply manipulation or attempts to monopolize transportation." Today, while the Ukrainian nation has demonstrated clearly that it wants democracy, Russia is doing its best to undermine the country in all possible means.

Mr. President, we ask you to express to President Putin that given Russia's historical attempts to subjugate Ukraine and its people, including by Stalin's man-made famine, the United States will not permit energy to be used as a weapon against Ukraine. Aside from the objective economic reasons that are involved in these recent gas negotiations, the Russian Federation, as stated recently by its ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin, will put up obstacles in the negotiations because of Ukraine's recent declaration of its intent to join NATO. "Where there are bad political relations, good economic [affairs] just don't happen," stated Ambassador Chernomyrdin, hinting at this issue.

Moreover, as political pundits have observed recently, the West fears that Mr. Putin will use the venue of the G-8 meeting to promote his policies, isolate Ukraine and punish those member-countries that are supporters of Ukraine. Jackson Diehl of The Washington Post recently wrote: "In the past few weeks, however, the Western will to stand up to Putin has crumbled. At a NATO ministerial meeting 10 days ago, France and several other European governments rejected U.S. talk of an 'enhanced dialogue' with Georgia or a membership action plan for Ukraine - even as Russian-backed demonstrations in the Ukrainian Crimea forced NATO to withdraw U.S. Marines who had deployed there for an exercise."

Mr. President, there are numerous examples of Russia's covert and open attempts to sabotage Ukrainian democracy and independence, and force the world to accept its vision of world affairs. As a representative organization of the Ukrainian American community, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) respectfully requests that the United States, as a strategic partner of Ukraine, an ardent supporter of Ukraine's NATO membership and the defender of democracies worldwide, does not waver in its open support for Ukraine. We ask that the United States assist Ukraine in resolving this and other issues that could hamper its evolution into a country worthy of being America's ally and a member of NATO, the WTO and the global community. Although price increases are inevitable for a number of reasons, they need to be implemented gradually, allowing Ukraine's economy time to adjust and increase energy efficiency. Speedy and efficient resolution of this issue would also ensure stable supplies of energy to Europe through Ukraine's pipelines.

We thank you in advance for your assistance and wish you success in your further work.

On behalf of the UCCA Executive Board:

Michael Sawkiw Jr., President
Marie Duplak, Executive Secretary

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