Moscow Daily Probes Key Bilateral Issues With Ukrainian Foreign Minister

Text of an interview with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, conducted in St Petersburg by Yevgeniy Shestakov on an unspecified date and published under the headline “There Will Be No ‘Blacklisted Persons’ in Russia or Ukraine” by Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on 9 June

One of the key meetings at the informal CIS summit due to take place in St Petersburg will be Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk came to Moscow to prepare for this meeting and to conduct a session of the International Cooperation Subcommittee of the Russian-Ukrainian Inter-State Commission. He gave an exclusive interview for Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

[Shestakov] One of the most acute issues in Russia’s relations with Ukraine currently is the problem of reciprocal deportation of citizens. I am referring to the deportation of Russian political analyst Aleksandr Dugin from Simferopol and the subsequent deportation from St Petersburg of Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykola Zhulynskyy. Has this subject been discussed with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov? Has agreement been reached on how such situations can be prevented in future?

[Yatsenyuk] This problem does not lie within the exclusive remit of the foreign ministries. We did, however, assume this burden in order to try in some way to resolve the problem. Yes, the deportation issue was indeed discussed, and it occupied a substantial proportion of our negotiations. Such actions create a very bad political background, which hampers the progress of substantive consultations on other topics. That background is not directly connected with the negotiating process, but with the formation of public opinion in our countries.

We have received a Russian Foreign Ministry note proposing that we completely do away with the list of blacklisted persons. Ukraine does not rule out the possibility of scrapping such lists, but on certain conditions. Before travelling to Moscow I gathered a selection of statements made by a whole range of Russian politicians or, more exactly, citizens of Russia who are barred from entering Ukrainian territory. I assure you that, if any Ukrainian were to say such things regarding your country, I would personally forbid them to enter Russia. How can we solve this problem?

The Ukrainian side has suggested immediate consultations on these issues. Several proposals have been prepared. The first is to consider the possibility of providing reciprocal heads-ups on persons barred from entering Russia or Ukraine. The second is to grant such persons single entry, if so-called humanitarian issues are involved. The third is that, if citizens who have made – to put it politely – unfavourable statements about one side or the other apologize publicly, the sanctions against those persons will be lifted. After agreeing these proposals with the Russian side we shall be ready to submit them for consideration by the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.

If all three proposals are accepted bilaterally, this means that we have every reason to abolish blacklisted persons’ lists as such.

[Shestakov] One of the topics you discussed in Moscow was the Black Sea Fleet issues. Exactly what problems were involved?

[Yatsenyuk] I want to re-state once again the Foreign Ministry’s official position. Under the agreement between Ukraine and Russia, the fleet’s license to remain in the Crimea expires in 2017. There can be no talk of the Black Sea Fleet’s early withdrawal without the Russian side’s assent. Everyone at the talks in Moscow acknowledged this one fact: In our bilateral relations Russia and Ukraine have ceased politicizing of the Black Sea Fleet license issue. That is, this topic has ceased to be a bargaining chip. We proposed to the Russian side that we conduct joint inspections of the fleet. We are edging forward one step at a time, from a baseline fraught with problems. Proceeding at the current pace, we shall achieve full legal settlement of our relations over the Black Sea Fleet issue within the next year or two.

[Shestakov] Was a solution found in Moscow to the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Kerch Strait?

[Yatsenyuk] Not yet. The main problem lies on the surface – these are both Russia’s and Ukraine’s strategic interests in the Kerch Strait. Each side is upholding its respective national interests. I do not want to go into the details of a possible agreement. As to the border in the Sea of Azov, the negotiating process is ongoing.

At the same time I have sent a note to the Russian Foreign Ministry chief indicating the Ukrainian side’s readiness to sign a treaty on the demarcation of the entire onshore stretch of the border. Sergey Lavrov said that we would receive a reply literally within several days. We reckon that an agreement on the border’s demarcation will be signed in the very near future.

[Shestakov] Was the missile defence [MD] issue discussed in Moscow and, in particular, Ukraine’s possible plans to allow the deployment of American MD installations on its territory?

[Yatsenyuk] Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko stated officially that Ukraine is not prepared to grant use of its territory for the deployment of MD systems at this stage. Moreover, there are Russian MD installations on Ukrainian territory – at Uzhhorod and in the Crimea.

Therefore, as a country that has foreign MD systems on its territory, we are entitled to discuss this question. Ukraine supports openness and transparency in MD system deployment. That is, dialogue is objectively necessary. We may say that we have held informal consultations on this issue with Washington, and Moscow, and Prague, and Warsaw. We were interested in the technical characteristics, the potential threats, and so forth, connected with the deployment of American MD installations in Eastern Europe.

[Shestakov] What is you assessment of the border cooperation situation?

[Yatsenyuk] Sergey Lavrov and I have agreed to go to Belgorod in October, where we shall hold a joint meeting, with governors participating, on border cooperation issues. We shall also raise matters of cooperation between Ukrainian and Russian regions. We have also agreed to hold a meeting of our Black Sea Fleet subcommittees. We shall possibly do that in Sevastopol itself. The Russian Foreign Ministry chief and I will go together to those facilities over which we still have issues. We have arranged to have such a meeting in August.

[Shestakov] Are Ukraine’s NATO accession and the conduct of foreign states’ military exercises on your territory still on the agenda?

[Yatsenyuk] I discussed the NATO issue with Lavrov, and we reached an interesting solution. We have a joint subcommittee on international organizations, including on issues of cooperation with NATO. We want to arrange a discussion at a session of that subcommittee in order to gain an understanding of how Ukraine’s admission to NATO threatens your country. We do not need tension on our eastern border. But let us assess the direct threats. Precisely, issue by issue.

[Shestakov] Ukraine was one of the initiators of GUAM. This organization, consisting of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, is described as a kind of counterweight to the CIS. What has GUAM membership given your country?

[Yatsenyuk] During the Subcommittee session the Russian side wanted to gain a clearer understanding of the usefulness of creating a peacekeeping contingent within the GUAM framework. We replied that a peacekeeping contingent is the very last link in the GUAM chain of development. At the front end, though, there is still the issue of social, economic, and political cooperation within the framework of this organization. Thus, the question of a peacekeeping contingent is not on the agenda either tomorrow or the day after. At the GUAM session scheduled for 18 June there will be discussion of the essential package of documents that concerns primarily the practical scope of the organization’s activities.

In concluding the interview I would like to wish your readers, and the Russian people in general, a happy Russia Day. I am sure – and we, too, are currently also celebrating both the 10th anniversary of the Big Treaty’s signing and the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with your country – that Ukrainian-Russian strategic cooperation will continue to develop in the interests of our states and for the benefit of our peoples.

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