Special rapporteur Witold Waszcykowski calls upon the Alliance to revisit security policy

The last day of the NATO PA Spring Session was marked by a continued focus on Ukraine. According to Witold Waszczykowski, Polish special rapporteur who presented a draft special report on Euro-Maidan: What Is at Stake for Ukraine and Global Security to the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security, what started on a cold evening of late November as a modest gathering in Kyiv’s Maidan Square, unfolded into a full-blown national uprising, shaking the very foundation of the global order.

In the opinion of Mr Waszczykowski, the rule of Viktor Yanukovych, former President of Ukraine, was a complete disaster for Ukraine. He left the economy ruined, treasury emptied and corruption thriving as never before.

“Members of his clan, including his closest relatives, became shamelessly rich. He sent his political opponents to jail and compromised national sovereignty by extending foreign military presence on Ukrainian soil,” says the special rapporteur of the Committee.

Today Ukraine has turned a new leaf in its history, and there are reasons to hope that this nation and its new leaders have learned from the past mistakes. The rapporteur believes that the recent events were not just a political, but also a mental revolution. In recent presidential elections the people of Ukraine have showed that they have become citizens who feel responsibility for the future of their country: they came to vote and to fulfil their civic duty and waited in long queues for hours, despite the pressure, heat and difficult security situation.

Witold Waszczykowski acknowledges that challenges are formidable and that “no leader would be able to achieve a quick success rectifying systemic ills of the Ukrainian state. It is ultimately their responsibility to demonstrate with concrete actions that they are determined to forego old, malign practices of governance, i.e. to underpin a constitutional order that will ensure a level playing field for their constituency irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affinities. The Association Agreement with the European Union and cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and other donors should help the new government in Kyiv to tackle serious political and socio-economic problems that it has inherited from predecessors.”

The occupation and annexation of Crimea has shocked the international community and resulted in nearly universal condemnation. “It is sad that due to the adventurism and irresponsibility of its leaders, Russia is becoming increasingly isolated. I do not think it is in the national interests of Russia and its people to find themselves in the company of countries like North Korea, Cuba and Iran,” says Mr Waszczykowski.

The rapporteur notes that an aggressor should pay a serious price if it continues to infringe upon Ukraine’s sovereignty. He admits, however, that the sanctions imposed on Moscow fail to de-escalate the situation and end the occupation of Crimea, and that the Russian military incursion in Ukraine has also triggered waves of insecurity across the region.

“NATO’s actions to increase the Alliances presence in this region are most welcome. It is necessary for our Alliance to revisit our policies that have so far prohibited NATO from deploying adequate capabilities in Central and Eastern Europe. We should also devise effective policies to mitigate Russia’s powerful and unabashed propaganda,” states Witold Waszczykowski. According to him, the 2008 Russia’s war against Georgia and the current aggression against Ukraine show that we should act with greater resolve and with more unanimity than before. The lingering conflict not only undermines the future of Ukraine, but it also eats away at the credibility of the Alliance.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department, Office of the Seimas,

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