Paul
Goble
Staunton, February 29 – The maintenance
of Western sanctions is contingent upon Ukraine’s willingness to reform itself,
according to former Ukrainian foreign minister Vladimir Ogryzko. If Ukraine does not act, the West will
ultimately lift the sanctions; and Ukraine will have only itself to blame for
its resulting isolation.
In a commentary today, the diplomat
argues that the West is ready “to forgive us a very great deal both in regard
to the Minsk process and to questions related to it if we demonstrate in our domestic
policy good tempos, real changes and so on. Unfortunately, this isn’t happening”
(nv.ua/opinion/ogryzko/iz-za-nas-s-rossii-mogut-snjat-sanktsii-100074.html).
“The West is terribly afraid of a
repetition of the situation of 2005 when such dissension led to the loss of all
the achievements of the Maidan. Alas, this influences the attitude of the Est
toward Russia which has not missed a chance to cover Ukraine with dirt, to say
that we are failures and incapable of living without administration from the outside.”
Moscow, of course, wants this to come
from Moscow and not Washington or Brussels,” Ogryzko adds. But both because of
Ukrainian inaction and Moscow’s propaganda effort, “pessimism about the future
possibilities of Ukraine is growing in the West,” and thus more questions are
being raised about lifting sanctions against Russia.
“If Ukraine itself does not want to
take a tough line, then the question logically arises in the West as to why it
should be more Catholic than the pope and do everything for [Ukrainians], the
Kyiv diplomat says. “Alas, this tendency
is appearing ever more clearly in recent times.”
But he concludes on a more
optimistic note saying that sanctions will continue for a time; but “this
extension cannot be infinite without active moves by Ukraine. If reforms, the
struggle with corruption and genuine Ukrainian sanctions against Russia don’t
occur, then the currently expected extension of sanctions may be the last.”
No comments:
Post a Comment