Taras Kuzio’s Blog

Washington Comes Face to Face With Viktor Yanukovych

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych paid his first visit to Washington this week after returning as Prime Minister this summer. The event proved to be a non-issue as nothing concrete came of the meetings. Ironically, he did sign an agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US government body which has awarded Ukraine a grant to combat corruption. Of course, Yanukovych was the right person to sign the agreement with as he promised to combat this evil back home.
Washington had heard such promises many times in the past under President Leonid Kuchma and during the first Yanukovych government. And, it continues to remain skeptical towards Yanukovych’s promises to combat corruption and to uphold the democratic gains of the Orange Revolution.
There is great reason to be skeptical in Washington. The Party of Regions has shown that it continues in the Kuchma era mould of saying nice phrases and then undertaking the opposite policies. These nice phrases are produced for print, as recently in The Washington Post, and for his foreign speeches, by his Washington-based public relations company.
Everything is therefore beautifully choreographed, down to the free glossy brochure expounding the “successes” of the Yanukovuch government’s first 100 days in office. But, when he is asked difficult questions on NATO, the unconstitutional dismissal of Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk or energy corruption the choreography fails him and he stumbles to take part in a live question and answer session.
In this regard Yanukovych resembles President George W. Bush who also has a beautifully choreographed presentation but finds it difficult to deal with live questions. But, at least Bush has had six years to practice and he has dramatically improved. Meanwhile, for Yanukovych the world of free media and democracy is all very new, and a little tiresome.
This could be readily seen when Yanukovych cancelled a meeting at the Ukrainian Embassy with Ukrainian diaspora organizations. He had been warned that they had “difficult” questions for him on why the Party of Regions voted against the 1933 famine law, the status of the Ukrainian language and other issues. Maybe the “burly”, as the Western media describe him, Yanukovych is simply afraid of those little Ukrainian ladies?
There is though one major difference between Yanukovych and Bush. Whether you agree with him or not, Bush at least has convictions and beliefs.
Yanukovych meanwhile remains a blank void beyond the Potemkin choreographed smile and nice words. And this is the main problem. Washington (and organizations like NATO) do not now what he really stands for, if anything? This means he has to prove to Ukrainians and the West that the Yanukovych of today is not that of 2004. Ne Slovom a Dilom, as the Orange side campaigned on in the 2004 elections.
During Yanukovych’s talk at the Center for Strategic and International Relations, a Radio Liberty reporter asked him how he could now claim he is in favour of cooperation with NATO. To prove his point he showed him a Yanukovych leaflet from the 2004 elections that was virulently anti-NATO.
This is simple to explain. Yanukovych and the Party of Regions have changed their stance on NATO three times in four years, from support for membership in 2002-2004, to hostility to anything NATO when in opposition in 2005 to support for cooperation today. There is little consistency here, as there is not in many other domestic and foreign policy issues.
Perhaps Yanukovych should be put forward to the Guinness Book of Records for his ability to change stances so often without even noticing?