| Before his visit overseas, Viktor Yanukovych fired the Atlantic Minister Yesterday began the first working visit to the United States of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. President George W. Bush will not meet with the head of the Ukrainian government because the guest “lacks status,” said US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor. But the prime minister is expected to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Presidential National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.
Mr Yanukovych himself, who gained much of his presidential powers thanks to constitutional reform, considers this visit a principled one. On the part of the United States, “there is a desire to look each other in the eye,” the prime minister explained.
The Americans would not mind better understanding the political priorities of the Ukrainian prime minister, who enjoys a reputation as a pro-Russian politician. In addition, just on the eve of the visit, the parliamentary majority dismissed the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Boris Tarasyuk , whom Mr. Yanukovych accused of trying to disrupt his visit to the United States. This news is unlikely to have brought joy to the Washington establishment, since Mr. Tarasyuk is considered the main proponent of President Viktor Yushchenko's Euro-Atlantic course.
“In fact, this is Yanukovych’s show in the United States,” Vadim Karasev, head of the Ukrainian Institute of Global Strategies, told Vremya Novostei. “Since Ukraine has become a parliamentary-presidential republic, Yanukovych is traveling not as a creature of the president, although he will be obliged to carry out his directives, but as an independent politician, backed by an influential party, voters and the ruling coalition.”
According to Vadim Karasev, “the most important task for Yanukovych is to reconsider the attitude of the Americans towards him.” From “an unwanted successor to Kuchma, the prime minister will strive to become a politician for the United States on whom it will be possible to rely in some cases” - from the implementation of a number of energy projects to stabilizing the internal situation in Ukraine, the expert believes.
Among the issues that are planned to be discussed in the United States are the timing of Ukraine's accession to the WTO , the pace of integration into NATO and the diversification of energy sources. Viktor Yanukovych will have a conversation with Vice President Cheney about the development of the Black Sea shelves near the Ukrainian borders, which one of the American companies is claiming based on the results of the tender. The topics of energy prices and their transit, the production of fuel for Ukrainian nuclear power plants with the participation of the United States, and American assistance in the development of energy saving programs will be touched upon. Yanukovych will discuss with Condoleezza Rice relations with Russia, Belarus, the GUAM countries and Romania. We will also talk about the recent permission of the US Congress to build a monument to the victims of the Ukrainian Holodomor in Washington.
Mr. Yanukovych's overseas trip comes against the backdrop of a growing conflict between the prime minister and President Viktor Yushchenko. On Friday, the ruling parliamentary coalition fired Foreign Minister Tarasyuk, threatening to dismiss another Yushchenko ally - the head of the Ministry of Defense Anatoly Gritsenko . Both ministers entered the government under the constitutional quota of the president. At the same time, the ruling Anti-Crisis Coalition dismissed the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Yuriy Lutsenko, who was considered the “president’s man” in the government, appointing socialist Vasily Tsushko in his place.
Since the resignation of ministers elected to the Rada under the presidential quota is not stipulated in the legislation, Viktor Yushchenko considers the dismissal of the head of the Foreign Ministry an interference in his sphere of competence. After the removal of Tarasyuk and Lutsenko, “practically the entirety of the highest executive power is in the hands of the coalition,” Alexey Golobutsky, a representative of the Situation Modeling Agency, told the media. “Americans may be irritated by Tarasyuk’s dismissal, but America respects strong politicians who influence political processes,” Karasev said. “Yanukovych’s entourage apparently calculated this factor, so they put pressure on the decision on the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demonstrating the influence of the Party of Regions.”
“It’s a pity that this foreign policy visit, which is truly important for Ukraine, is taking place against a background of conflict,” Vladimir Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian Penta Center for Political Research, told Vremya Novostey. “This causes concern and misunderstanding abroad.” According to the expert, if “the game of war continues, then by spring the members of the Anti-Crisis Coalition will be drawn into the conflict between the president and the prime minister, which could lead to its collapse.” According to our interlocutor, by that time, against the backdrop of a worsening general economic situation, “the question of early parliamentary elections may arise.”
The Ukrainian Prime Minister accused Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk of trying to disrupt his visit to the United States Svetlana STEPANENKO, Kyiv |
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