[Aaus-list] [Ukrainians For Obama] Seeking Clarity ... definitions and metrics

[Bohdan Pechenyak]

Aleks, long time no hear )). Good to hear from you again.

I think that I would agree with you about "full integration" into the EU. I
also think that Ukraine should have the ability to protect some of its
industries and support the domestic manufacturers, at least until its
economy is healthy and self-reliant enough. But my point was more political
than economic - politically, Ukraine needs to make a choice and support it
with the policies that indicate its European choice. Once and for all. I'm
pretty tired of this "multi-vector" nonsense.

What do you mean by "left-wing economics" )). Liberalization and
globalization - which are essentially the policies of regional integration,
the IMF, the World Bank and so on - is neither "left-wing" nor
"right-wing", in my mind. For the developing countries, some of these
policies are a disaster, because they serve only the capital, not the
people. But this is a whole another debate. I was - and am - talking about
only the first steps, which we MUST make. Why are many people in Ukraine
saying "Now or never"? Because they feel like that - if we don't accomplish
this first step now, it will drag on for God knows how long into the
future.

Ukraine has no other choice but to pursue increasing integration with the
> European Union up to a certain level, especially since it is being welcomed
> to do so.
>

Exactly. That's all I'm saying.


> This is for the very simple reason that in the absence of such a process,
> a temporarily ascendant Russia will not stop in trying to reintegrate
> Ukraine into a reconstituted Russian Empire. Muscovite leaders have always
> seen Ukraine as a crown jewel and consider it an insult that they are not
> able to control it. Putin has even said that he loves Ukraine and Ukrainian
> language and culture and sees it all as a part of a common "Russian world"
> and that's why he doesn't want to let it go.
>

Yes, and he also said that Ukrainian economy is a "branch of Russian
economy". Someone needs to slap him silly, so he wakes up, that KaGeBist.

Furthermore, this is going to continue to be the case for decades to come,
> until such a time as the Russian Empire weakens, whether due to an internal
> demographic implosion or through an external energy revolution or some
> other cause, and/or radically changes its approach to Ukraine. So, for the
> short and mid-term perspective, EU integration is crucial, but only as a
> stepping stone to a long-term goal of full sovereignty and prosperity for
> the Ukrainian people.
>
> «В своїй хаті своя правда, і сила, і воля».
>

Амінь.

Bohdan.
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