Although the United States has a strong interest in maintaining close ties with Ukraine, it has not always been easy.
Steven Pifer, U.S. State Department deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, testified about Ukraine to a House of Representatives subcommittee on Europe May 12, 2004. He noted that the United States has an interest in seeing the fledgling nation grow into a “stable, independent, democratic, economically prosperous” nation that “promotes human rights and abides by the rule of law, that … actively contributes to strengthening peace and security in the international community.”
In spite of these lofty hopes, the State Department acknowledges that Ukraine has not come as far as it had hoped since gaining its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991.
One of the first initiatives the United States sought after recognizing the new nation was its denuclearization. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine had the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
Ukraine, Russia and the United States worked together to eliminate the weapons, completing the task by 1996. Ukraine also signed a nuclear nonproliferation treaty in 1994.
Ukraine took preliminary steps to join NATO soon after gaining independence in 1991; in April 2005, NATO and Ukraine agreed to launch a dialogue intended, but not guaranteed, to lead to membership.
Similarly Ukraine is being considered for membership in the European Union, but final approval may be years down the road.
The issues slowing Ukraine’s membership status in NATO and the European Union are much the same as those hampering U.S.-Ukraine relations. U.S. observers point to multiple democracy and human rights violations.
The lowest point in U.S.-Ukraine relations was the 2002 release of an audiotape of President Leonid Kuchma agreeing to the sale of a Kolchuga early warning system to Iraq.
The radar system would have allowed Iraq to lock anti-aircraft missiles on aerial targets as far as 500 miles away and override stealth technology. A fact-finding team was unable to establish whether the transfer took place.
Since the Kolchuga incident, U.S.-Ukraine relations have slowly improved, gaining momentum when Western-leaning Viktor Yushchenko became president in 2004.
Ukraine supported the United States’ action in Iraq, sending a small number of troops in August 2003 to help.
Following an explosion that killed eight Ukrainian soldiers, then-President Kuchma announced that he would withdraw the troops from Iraq. That withdrawal was completed in December 2005 under President Yushchenko.
The pullout did not noticeably affect relations with the United States, as President George W. Bush signed a bill this year that strengthens trade ties between the two countries.
On March 23, Bush signed the bill sponsored by congressman Jim Gerlach, R-Pa., which allows for permanent normal trade relations, or “most favored nation” status, according to Gerlach’s Web site, http://gerlach.house.gov.
“By expanding trade with Ukraine, this bill will open new markets for American products and help Ukrainians continue to build a free economy,” Bush said, according to a White House press release.
He also noted that the United States supported Ukraine’s efforts to join the World Trade Organization. “Ukrainian people have shown the world they are committed to the ideals of economic freedom and democratic progress and open trade, and that gives them a promising future,” Bush said.
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