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Institute of World Policy has held a videoconference with WashingtonParticipants of the videoconference were Lawrence Silverman, Head of the Department for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine of the U.S. Department of State, William B. Taylor, former Ambassador of the U.S. to Ukraine, Samuel Charap, Director for Russia and Eurasia of the Center for American Progress, and Katie Fox, deputy director of the Eurasia Department of the National Democratic Institute.

The current state of the U.S.-Ukraine relations were discussed by the prominent experts, diplomats and journalists in Kyiv and Washington. The topic of the event: “Walking and Chewing Gum at the Same Time? Integrating Values and Interests in US-Ukraine Relations.”
According to Katie Fox, the U.S. have not noticed any considerable progress in the democratic development of Ukraine. She claimed that there are political harassments against members of the previous government headed by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Lawrence Silverman agreed with her and added: “Though Ukraine takes a lead in the democratic development in the region, it is worth noting that there are still a lot to do for the Ukrainian authorities. USA saw considerable problems at local elections in Ukraine and we openly said that to Ukrainian authorities. According to Silverman, the U.S. would like to see more effective progress in the Constitutional reform, in particular.
Much attention was paid to the problem of the FTA with the EU. Lawrence Silverman said that the U.S. trust in the declarations of the Ukrainian government that the Agreement on the Free Trade Area with the EU will be signed by the end of 2011.

According to him participation in the Tariff Union with the Russian Federation does not correspond to the national interests of Ukraine. “Tariff Union does not correspond to the regulation of the WTO. So, Ukraine will suffer if it joins Tariff Union”, he said.

Answering the question whether it is possible that Ukraine joins Tariff Union if Russia becomes a member of the WTO, Samuel Charap stated that the situation may change, but Ukraine will have to decide what is more profitable: to be the member of the Free Trade Area with EU or to join Tariff Union.

The strategic importance of the European integration of Ukraine was underlined by the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor. “Ukraine’s place is in the European Union”.

The videoconference was held in partnership with Center for American Progress (Washington), within the frameworks of the project supported by the U. S. Embassy in Ukraine.

You can read the full version of the discussion here.