[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Russia and USA compete over the influence on post-Soviet space
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 19:09:59 +0100
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com
**http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/354/16792_Ukraine.html
Russia and USA compete over the influence on post-Soviet space
01/25/2006 11:02
The interests of both countries should be taken into consideration for
settling the conflict, emotions will not resolve it
"Moscow's actions seemed to be politically motivated as though Russia was
punishing Ukraine for its support to the color revolutions, which are fully
supported by the U.S. Administration," Dimitri Simes, president of the Nixon
Center.
A year that has passed since the orange revolution took place in Ukraine
was rife with political, economic, and social changes. It was hardly a time of
optimism in Ukraine's history, a period that held out any hope of a "bright
future" for that country. The political situation on the eve of the
presidential election in December 2004 was broken to smithereens. It was a
miracle that not a single drop of blood was shed. Restoration of stability will
take months if not years to complete.
In fact, it was extremely important for Russia to make sure that those
dubbed "the heroes of Independence Square" (in Kiev) were not in power in a
neighboring country though it would be a exaggeration to maintain that the
Kremlin had played an active role in Ukraine's election campaign. Judging by
the tone of the foreign media, the West has not yet forgiven Moscow for showing
a considerable interest in a particular outcome of the election.
The number of votes cast for both candidates was more or less equal. The
external factor proved to be a decisive one. As a result, a candidate who had
been supported by the West for many years won the election in a rather
questionable way while a Kremlin-backed candidate had to step back. The loser
then agreed to throw in the towel under guarantee of the implementation of a
constitutional reform, which partially came into effect on January 1, 2006. The
reform is to be implemented in full after the parliamentary election scheduled
on March 26. The question is what shape the external factor will take during
the upcoming election that may either give a boost to the "conquests of the
revolution" or bring out "counterrevolutionary revenge."
A clash of civilizations?
"Washington always supported the democratic forces all over the world
including the former Soviet Union." Ariel Cohen, the Heritage Foundation
Ariel Cohen, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, gave an
interview to Washington Profile. The interview was posted on the web site of
the above organization on November 25, 2005.
Q: Some experts believe that the U.S. is nowadays competing Russia for
influence in the former Soviet Union. Is the U.S. really trying to consolidate
its position in the republics of the former Soviet Union?
A: Russia and the United States keep clashing in the former Soviet Union.
The interests of both countries should be taken into consideration for settling
the conflict, emotions will not resolve it. However, taking into consideration
the above interests is a very difficult task.
One just can not but agree with Dr. Cohen in this case. The conflict is
really taking place all over the former Soviet Union. Russia and the U.S. have
very little in common in terms of interests. Let us skip Russia's interests for
awhile and take another look at America's policies with regard to the new
independent states. Let us also touch on some results of those policies.
Can it be that the U.S. administration really knows how to make the whole
world happy? Can Russia be a troublesome piece of the Evil Empire, is it simply
envious of somebody else's success and does harm to everybody by inertia?
"The inability of both Mr. Yushchenko and his former ally Mrs. Tymoshenko
to strengthen the success of the orange revolution was the most amazing event
of the last year," says The Financial Times in its editorial published on
January 16.
According to Dmitry Simes, president of the Nixon Center, who spoke with
Nezavisimaya Gazeta on January 16, "Ukraine is viewed by the United States as a
country that opted for the so-called European Atlantic institutions; a country
that chose a democratic way of development during the orange revolution; a
country that supported the U.S. actions in Iraq; a country that is an important
factor of geopolitical stability in Europe." Therefore, Ukraine has made the
right choice in compliance with Washington's recommendations, and things could
only get better for Ukraine.
Another quotation from Dmitry Sime's interview may help explain the
reason behind a series of misfortunes that the "important factor of
geopolitical stability in Europe" has fallen on. "Many countries of Central
Europe are not so keen to share a border with Russia that is getting
increasingly stronger and self-confident." In other words, "many countries"
would like to create some kind of a buffer between themselves and Russia. The
Anglo-Saxon concept of a "sanitary cordon" falls under a similar category. The
United States regards Ukraine and other countries of the "commonwealth of the
right choice" as an instrument for exerting influence on Russia. Washington
does not show great concern about the fate of the instrument.
The future plans
As it has been said before, the external factor could be a decisive one
in the Ukrainian parliamentary election on March 26. What is Washington is
going to do this time around? On the one hand, a total fiasco of Washington's
proteges is obvious. Moreover, "today's priorities of the U.S. Administration
in the field of national security include Iraq, the fight against the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the war on terror, Iran, China,
energy, and democratization. The implementation of all these goals save for
Iraq requires a stable and good relationship with Russia. No matter how
important the U.S. support to the color revolutions in close vicinity to Russia
may be, it should not be an influence on the resolution of strategic objectives
set by the United States," as Ariel Cohen put it.
Dr. Cohen also pointed out that making a compromise between the positions
of Moscow and Washington in the former Soviet Union is a tough job. Therefore,
the U.S. is unlikely to leave Ukraine alone. The Americans will be pursuing the
same policy despite the consequences. The president of the Nixon Center Dmitry
Simes shares the view: "Washington can appreciate that Yushchenko's position is
quite vulnerable. Let us get it straight: the Bush Administration would be
disappointed should the followers of Viktor Yanukovich win the parliamentary
election. Having said that, I do not suppose that the U.S. government is
interfering in the Ukrainian election. However, the U.S. is ready to resist
Russia's attempts to influence the results of the election in a way that will
be undesirable for the United States."
The United States is likely to maintain its support to Viktor Yushchenko
and his party the Popular Union "Our Ukraine." It is still unclear what should
be done about the changes in the opinion polls results. All the polls indicate
that the Yanukovch party is a leader supported by 22% to 31% of voters. The
Yulia Tymoshenko bloc and Viktor Yushchenko party are lagging behind the leader
(14% to 17%).
Kiev's pro-American orientation can be kept intact only by force and with
the help of the external factors. The Ukrainians can only take some comfort by
watching things go from bad to worse in Iraq and Afghanistan whose people have
also opted for freedom and democracy, according to the U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice.
Aleksei Kovalev
Discuss this aritcle on Pravda.Ru English Forum
Read the original in Russian:
http://www.pravda.ru/world/former-ussr/23-01-2006/74370-UkraineUSA-0
(Translated by: Guerman Grachev)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:
1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi
4. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com **
Other related posts:
- » [nasional_list] [ppiindia] Russia and USA compete over the influence on post-Soviet space
