{ Info-Prim Neo interview with Serhii Pyrozhkov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova, from the series: “For 21 Years Independent: we, the Former Soviet States”. ORIGINALLY published on 20 August 2012 } [- When independence was proclaimed, did your country have the same starting line as Moldova on the track towards modernization, development and renewal? How close or far away are we now from each other? ] - I do not entirely agree with your statement that all former republics of the Soviet Union have had the same conditions for modernizing and renovating their statehood. Besides the obvious and explainable differences in economic potential, each of these new independent states had its own traits in the historic process of strengthening their territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the assertion of their position on the international arena. Most of the new independent states had chosen the difficult path of integration to the European and Euro-Atlantic structures, which is evident from the perspective of solving the modernization issues. For over 20 years of independence, Ukraine, as well as Moldova, has followed its own path to building its statehood, which meant in-depth reformation of the political system, as well as of the socio-economic relations system. Much has been done, but even a greater volume of work awaits us, if we want to become full-fledged members of the grand family of European democratic states. Thus, I would not like, even under the influence of the competitive spirit of the Olympic Games, for us to determine the leader among our two countries in this sense. What matters is that we have common goals, and that there is will to reciprocally benefit from our experiences, in order to successfully accomplish our European integration plans. [- What did your country do right and what went wrong on this path of independent development, perhaps compared to Moldova? ] - In the years that have passed, Ukraine has managed to achieve the most important goal; our country has asserted itself as a sovereign, independent state, which meets its own needs using its own power. We have created an efficient system of public administration, capable to adequately react to the most complicated of challenges in the political, economic, and humanitarian fields. We have developed a system of national security. We have kept and further developed our industry, including such great scientific fields as cosmonautics, aeronautics, naval engineering, electronics and others. We have completely ensured our country’s alimentary security, and currently are intensely working on securing the energy sector. We have maintained, and are reforming, the armed forces, whose possibilities are sufficient for ensuring state security and providing a worthy contribution to the international system, for ensuring peace and stability in the region. We continually strengthen Ukraine’s prestige on the international arena, through mutually advantageous friendships with all countries, and actively participate in the majority of international bodies, both on the regional and global level. Our main achievement, in my opinion, is that we have managed to maintain peace and stability in the country, in spite of the complicated political processes that our country has gone through. As in any democratic state, the Ukrainian society and political class are characterized by miscellaneous points of view on the country’s development paths. However, the main aspect for the Ukrainian people is for Ukraine to develop as an independent and sovereign state, with the respect of human rights, freedom, and democracy, as top priorities. And, finally, for the first time in our history, this year we, together with Poland, have successfully organized the EURO-2012 European football Championship finals. What has not been done yet? I will be straight: very much. Ukraine still has to, first and foremost, finish the procedure of signing and ratifying the Agreement of association with the EU, including the creation of a zone of deep comprehensive free trade, intensify the dialogue with EU on the visa liberalization action plan, which will, indubitably, draw our country closer to European standards and values. Hard work also awaits us, on our country’s socio-economic changes, in light of the ever-increasing global economic crisis. But we are sure that the assiduity, determination and wisdom of the Ukrainian people will allow us to solve even the most complicated of problems that concern our state’s development. [- After proclaiming independence, did you country find itself facing a choice between different geopolitical orientations, in particular East or West, like the one faced by Moldova? What were the reasons behind your choice? ] - Ukraine has also set the Euro-integration development as its priority. After all, we have set this goal ever since our country had become independent. For the Ukraine, the European Union is an example that is attractive, firstly, through its population’s life standards, through the respect towards people and human rights, through the economic freedom, the system of citizens’ social protection, and democratic values. The fact that a great share of the population has recently opted in favor of our country’s integration to the EU, according to a recent poll, is not random at all, and all political forces, including the opposition, gladly include European integration in their electoral agendas. This direction is still the most important one. Moreover, it was even confirmed on the legislative level. This priority is stipulated within the Law on Ukraine’s basic home and foreign policies. It was recently reflected in the President’s Message, which was addressed to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. It mentions that the European integration direction is a faithful continuation of the policy proclaimed in 2010, after Party of Regions’ rise to power. Despite all unsolved problems, Ukraine understands that advancement towards Europe depends, first, on the efforts put into home policies, on the way the leadership and people are ready to the unfolding of major democratic reforms, of a profound transformation of the social sphere, of the Law enforcing bodies and judicial system reforms, of the adjustment of national legislation to the context of European standards. Advancing on the European priority direction, Kiev officially tries, in the meantime, to develop fruitful collaboration with its strategic partners: Russia and the United States of America, with other countries, based on Ukraine’s interests, guided by the main goal, i.e. improving our citizens’ living. [- What does your country think of the choice made by Moldova to opt for European integration? ] - In the ex-Soviet area, Ukraine and Moldova are the countries with the best results, in the context of developing relations with the European Union. This was confirmed, by the way, at the third Ministerial Summit of the “Eastern Partnership” that took place on July 23-24, in Brussels. In fact, the final goal – joining the EU – does not spark discussions both at the majority of Ukrainians and Moldovans. Meanwhile, the European course is not doubted neither by the political opposition in Ukraine, nor by the one in Moldova. Taking all of these into account, integration to the European Union has been established as the main priorities of the foreign policies promoted by Kiev and Chisinau. As our European partners rightfully mention, the successes of both countries on their way to a united Europe depend, first and foremost, on the effort put in by the countries themselves for the resolution of home policy issues, of the way in which the political elites and peoples are ready for the development of sizeable reforms and democratic transformations. As neighbor countries that have common frontiers with the EU, Moldova and Ukraine have certain advantages in their relations with Brussels, which must be used reasonably. We are talking about the fact that the European Union is interested in having prosperous and stable countries in its vicinity; it is available for a considerable increase in the level of political interaction, for ampler economic integration, improvement of financial assistance, including with the help of accomplishing several programs. One of the key programs has become the EU initiative dubbed “the Eastern Partnership”, which is oriented towards the elaboration of the association Agreement, the creation of a freed trade zones, preparation for applying for a visa-free regime in the six of the former USSR members, as well as connecting to the European energy system, and common air space. Chisinau and Kiev actively collaborate in accomplishing common cooperation programs that have been proposed by Brussels. Confirmation to this fact is found within a very important document, which has been signed in last year’s July, between the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, which determines the common coordination of the efforts put in by Kiev and Chisinau in this direction: the European integration collaboration Memorandum. [- What notion would best define the relationship between our countries at this stage? For example, when speaking about relationships with other countries in different contexts, Moldovan politicians frequently use such notions as strategic partnership, close relationship, pragmatic relationship etc. ] - As I’ve already mentioned, the Ukraine and Moldova have many things in common. First, we are neighbors, thus we are bound by common historical and cultural heritage. Our countries are of the same age, we even celebrate Independence Day almost concomitantly, i.e. at the end of August. We have the same foreign policy top priority – European integration. Building off of all these, we try to build good, close vicinity relations, as you’ve highlighted, based on pragmatic and mutually profitable collaboration. In my opinion, the current bilateral Moldovan-Ukrainian relations could, de facto, be called strategic. I am sure that, as a result of common efforts, we will manage to accomplish all of the most important tasks that our countries face, so that both Ukrainian citizens, as well as those of Moldova can feel as an inseparable of the European community. [Irina Ursu, Info-Prim Neo ] {[Info-Prim Neo note:] The “For 21 Years Independent: we, the Former Soviet States” series is intended to include interviews with representatives of diplomatic missions from all the former Soviet states. It primarily aims to assess the progress made by our country since Independence, in particular against the experience of other countries which had approximately the same starting line, as well as to discuss the relations between our countries and peoples over these years. }