INSIDE: l Yatsenyuk speaks at Brookings Institution – page 5 l UAYA ‘Zlet’ and Plast ‘Sviato Vesny’ – pages 10-11 l Ukrainian performers’ get great reviews – page 12 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXI No. 26-27 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 30-JULY 7, 2013 $1/$2 in Ukraine Yanukovych holds first meeting Nominee for U.S. ambassador to Ukraine with opposition since 2012 elections promises more productive relationship by Zenon Zawada “We are in the process of negotiations. We gave our colleagues from the West a packet KYIV – Ukrainian President Viktor of proposals. No one has said, ‘No.’ It’s pos­ Yanukovych agreed to meet with the oppo­ sible the legislation will have to be changed sition last week after avoiding giving his in order to fulfill the humanitarian mis­ annual address to the Verkhovna Rada. It sion.” was the first time Mr. Yanukovych met with That response, Mr. Yatsenyuk said, led the parliamentary opposition since the par­ him to believe the Yanukovych administra­ liamentary elections in October of last year. tion is considering allowing Ms. Tymoshen­ Yet only one of Ukraine’s three opposition ko to travel abroad for medical treatment. leaders accepted the invitation. Arseniy Germany is the most commonly cited Yatsenyuk, political council chair of possible destination, as German Foreign Batkivshchyna, attended the June 19 meet­ Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle met ing at the Presidential Administration, with President Yanukovych in Kyiv on June where Mr. Yanukovych enjoyed the compan­ 21 to discuss medical treatment for Ms. ionship of five Party of Regions members Tymoshenko. and Petro Symonenko, chair of the Mr. Yatsenyuk said he read Mr. Communist Party. Yanukovych a list of demands signed by the “Yanukovych can’t meet with us without leaders of the three opposition parliamenta­ his lawyers, the Communists and Regions. ry factions, which also include Vitali Let it be. I’ll go alone,” Mr. Yatsenyuk told Klitschko of the Ukrainian Democratic Yaro Bihun journalists as he walked to the Presidential Alliance for Reform and Oleh Tiahnybok of The U.S. ambassador-designate to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, testifies before the Administration building on Bankova the Svoboda nationalist party. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Street, followed by about 50 national depu­ The demands urged the president to ties of the Batkiv shchyna parliamentary take the necessary measures not only to by Yaro Bihun In his opening statement, Mr. Pyatt said faction (who remained outside during the arrange for Ms. Tymoshenko’s release, but Special to The Ukrainian Weekly that, if confirmed, his highest goal would be meeting). also to ensure the signing of the Ukraine­ to continue the U.S. effort to “to advance The main item on Mr. Yatsenyuk’s agen­ EU Association Agreement in late WASHINGTON – President Barack Ukraine on the path toward a modern da was the status of President Yanukovych’s November, to draft an election code in Obama’s nominee to be the next U.S. European democracy.” negotiations with European Union leaders accordance with EU demands, to improve ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, In some areas – notably in nuclear non­ for the release of former Prime Minister Ukraine’s ailing economy, to forbid the appeared before the Senate Foreign proliferation – Ukraine’s “leadership on this Yulia Tymoshenko, whose medical condi­ privatization of the state’s natural gas tran­ Relations Committee on June 19, discussing issue stands as an example for countries tion has reportedly deteriorated in recent sit system, to fight corruption, to cease per­ this administration’s policy toward Ukraine around the world,” he said, pointing out weeks. secution of the opposition, and to protect and its recommendations for building a that Kyiv’s decision to remove all of its In reporting to journalists, Mr. Yatsenyuk stronger and more productive bilateral quoted Mr. Yanukovych’s precise words: (Continued on page 4) relationship. (Continued on page 4) Worldwide conference of Plast representatives held in New Jersey chair, Lev Zakharchyshyn (Ukraine) and Philip Botte (Australia). The delegates heard reports about Plast activity, approved decisions that affect the scouting organization’s work worldwide and elected their leadership for the next three years. A special focus of this year’s meeting was the recently celebrated cen­ tennial of Plast, which was marked in all countries where Plast is active and culmi­ nated in the Jubilee International Plast Jamboree held in Ukraine last summer. Marta Kuzmowycz of the United States Arianna Lebed was elected as the leader of Plast worldwide. Young adult Plast members gathered for a group photo during their session at the 18th meeting of the Conference of Ukrainian She heads Plast’s International executive, Plast Organizations. which also includes: Roman Hryciw (U.S.A.), by Lesya Fedorenko worldwide, was convened on June 7­9 here Canada and Ukraine. Participants of the vice­president; Nazar Zelinka (Ukraine), sec­ at the Hanover Marriott Hotel. 2013 meeting arrived from Argentina, retary; Tamara Hankewych (U.S.A.), treasur­ WHIPPANY, N.J. – The 18th meeting of Known by its Ukrainian acronym as Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, er; Serhiy Yuzyk (Ukraine), publications the Conference of Ukrainian Plast KUPO, the conference meets every three Ireland, Poland, Ukraine and the United director; and Andrij Rebryk (Ukraine), direc­ Organizations, which brings together dele­ years in various venues where Plast is States. tor for worldwide development of Plast. gates from the national representations of active. Previous meetings of the conference The meeting was conducted by a presid­ Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization were held most often in the United States, ium that included Roman Hryciw (U.S.A.), (Continued on page 17) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 30 – JULY 7, 2013 No. 26-27 ANALYSIS Putin believes U.S.-Russia relations Ukrainian climbers killed in Pakistan Constitutional Assembly adopts draft concept KYIV – The Foreign Affairs Ministry of KYIV – The Constitutional Assembly on are dominated by zero-sum game Ukraine on June 25 confirmed the death of June 21 adopted as a basis for further work three citizens of Ukraine as a result of the the draft concept of amendments to the than Stalin, President Putin acknowledged by Pavel Felgenhauer terrorist attack on a mountain climbers’ Constitution of Ukraine. Constitutional that the U.S. is basically a democratic coun­ Eurasia Daily Monitor campsite at the base of one of the world’s Assembly Secretary Maryna Stavniychuk try, built on the principle of individual tallest mountains in northern Pakistan. The spoke after the meeting, noting that mem­ June 12 is Russia Day, a national holiday rights and freedoms, whereas Russian soci­ Ukrainian Embassy in Pakistan has bers of the assembly, commissions and traditionally celebrated by awarding ety is built on “collectivism,” which makes it expressed its condolences to the families of organizations must now develop and sub­ Russia’s annual state prizes in the fields of fundamentally different. The Russian the victims. “According to the latest data mit their proposals to the draft concept. science, technology, the arts and literature, national soul, according to Mr. Putin, is provided by the Pakistani side and con­ The concept must be approved in followed by a lavish reception in the eternal and directly connected to God, firmed by the members of the expedition September. The draft concept of reforming Kremlin. President Vladimir Putin awarded unlike, apparently, the pragmatic American who survived, Ukrainian climbers Ihor the Constitution, which was considered at the State Prize to Sergei Nikulin, the gener­ one — “so it is very hard for us to under­ Sverhun, Dmytro Koniaev and Badavi the closed session of the Constitutional al director of the Moscow Institute of stand each other, but it is possible some­ Kashaev were killed in the tragedy. The Assembly on June 21, provides for a full Teplotekhnika Corporation and the main times” (http://news.kremlin.ru/ embassy expresses its sincere condolences change of the state management model, designer of modern Russian intercontinen­ news/18319/). giving part of presidential powers to the tal ballistic missiles (ICBM). Mr. Nikulin, Mr. Putin clearly believes a zero­sum to the families of the deceased Ukrainian climbers,” the statement reads. In the early Verkhovna Rada. This includes the right of together with two of his co­workers, game dominates U.S.­Russia relations: If we Parliament to appoint the Cabinet of received this year’s state prize for the do not get to them, then they will get to us. hours of Sunday, June 23, 10 foreign moun­ tain climbers – three Ukrainians, two Ministers, as well as empowering the design of the new land­mobile RS­24 Yars Differences with the U.S. are not ideological Parliament to terminate the powers of ICBM, which features multiple individually per se, but fundamental, based on national Slovaks, two Chinese, one Lithuanian, one Nepalese and one American – and their members of the government. The single guided warheads, specifically earmarked to history and the illusive “national soul,” lever of influence on the Parliament would Pakistani guide were shot in the area of thwart the United States’ future ballistic making them practically irreconcilable. be the president’s right to dissolve the leg­ Mount Nanga Parbat in the Gilgit­Baltistan missile defense plans. Sometimes cooperation is possible, but the islative if the Cabinet is not formed within a region of Pakistan. Responsibility for the Accepting the prize, Mr. Nikulin U.S. is still the eternal enemy and nuclear statutory period. The president, mean­ attack has been taken by the Pakistani announced: “Who comes to us with a sword, ICBMs must be constantly modernized, while, must have full control over the Taliban movement Tehreek­e­Taliban will die from the sword.