http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=555184
Our Best Weapon Is Democracy // The Ukrainian Foreign Minister talks to Kommersant Official Opinion The 61st session of the Human Rights Commission has begun in Geneva. Boris Tarasyuk, the new head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, is taking part in it for the first time and has already become one of its biggest newsmakers. His statement, based on the example of the Orange Revolution, that a people have the right to defend its rights and freedoms nonviolently. He spoke about the new priorities in Ukrainian politics in an exclusive interview with Kommersant's Igor Sedykh in Geneva. What is the sense of the "new integration" of Ukraine into the European Union and NATO? The course toward integration was officially declared in 1991 when the country obtained its independence. The former leadership of the country, with Leonid Kuchma in charge, really did say all the time that the goal of Ukraine was entrance into the EU and NATO. But that was only a declaration. Now we are not only declaring it, we are acting. President Yushchenko is saying that European integration and admission to the EU is a priority. Ukrainian can bring peace, stability and security to the European continent, especially in areas of conflict. In addition, we are prepared to take on the mission of cooperating to spread democracy and justice to neighboring states. In that connection, they are saying that Ukraine is preparing to export the Orange Revolution. Is that so? I spoke before the Human Rights Commission because the Orange Revolution was an expression of what is the subject of the commission's activities. The people rose up to fight for their right for an election, the right to remove a corrupt regime nonviolently. With that revolution, Ukraine advanced democracy in Europe and the world. But exporting revolution is not our practice. If the situation does not arise in a country, if the people's dissatisfaction has not come to a critical mass and they are not ready to take up the struggle for its rights and freedoms, no export will help. But we can't help but see that the Orange revolution has been a magnet for all freedom fighters. Then how can Ukraine enable its neighbors confirm the principles of democracy? For example, our president has announced his intentions to increase efforts to reach a settlement of the conflict in Transdniester and, to achieve that goal, has met with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin. We are showing the Moldovan authorities that a solution can be found even in the most explosive situations. We had a similar situation in the Crimea, but we solved the problem through negotiations, just as we did in Sevastopol. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is located there against our will (unlike the situation in Moldova and Georgia), but in accordance with our political will. We gave the Russian Black Sea Fleet the right to be based in our port and rent our facilities, and that agreement will remain in force until 2017. What place does Russia have in Ukrainian foreign policy in that context? Russia should hold one of the key positions among Ukraine's partners for an obvious reason: Russia is our biggest neighbor. We have centuries-long ties with Russia, including human ties. Russia is our biggest trading partner after the EU. Therefore, we have no alternative to friendly neighborly relations. What plans does Ukraine have in relation to the common economic space? There is no common economic space yet. There are framework agreements, but the common economic space does not exist yet. To form it, about 90 agreements have to be prepared, of which 29 are now ready. Now the government is studying those documents along with the base framework again, and only after that analysis is completed will we be ready to announce our decision. Kiev's course toward entry into NATO means that Ukraine's huge defense industry, including tank, plane, missile manufacture, will be changed from Soviet standards to NATO's. Aren't you worried about losing Russian purchasers before you have any Western ones? That is not a real concern for us. Specialists in modern military technology say that those weapons are the weapons of the last century. Industry should produce what is in demand. What isn't in demand should be eliminated from production. How does this process look to you? The European Union has proposed that we take part in the Galileo project [satellite navigation system] and the development of an EU space project. Today, 13 percent of the world's space launches are carried out with Ukrainian rockets. We think the An-70 transport plane may be of interest to the EU as well. All the same, it seems that they are not overeager to receive Ukraine into the European Union. After the euphoria of the Orange Revolution wore off, Europe was more reserved. Yes. Although we are interested in joining Europe, we have yet to receive an adequate response from the European Union. Unfortunately, the EU has no clear concept of Ukraine's future in united Europe. We are approaching the issue for a realistic perspective. They need time for that. We have to show that we can do our "homework" and are already doing so. I hope the EU will reconsider its position fairly soon. In Geneva, you also took part in the conference on disarmament. You spoke in favor of destroying "excessive stockpiles of light firearms." What is that initiative linked to? When it became independent in 1991, Ukraine inherited the biggest military complex in the world, with about a million people, the world's third largest nuclear potential, more than 6000 tanks, and equal number of armored vehicles, not to mention light weapons. By rejecting nuclear weaponry and curtailing it traditional weapons and armed forces, Ukraine made a contribution to the security of Europe and is now among the countries leading the fight against excessive armament, especially light firearms. We have no need for excessive weaponry. Our best weapon is democracy and enlightenment. by Igor Sedykh Russian Article as of Mar. 17, 2005 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
