West still pushing democracy in former Soviet republics

By Zhang Hong Source:Global Times Published: 2013-12-16 19:53:01

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Since it gained independence from the Soviet Union, Ukraine has made integration with Europe a priority of its foreign policy. 

However, the Ukraine government recently refused to sign an accord of association with the EU that would have permitted a close relationship between the two. Thousands of pro-EU protesters took to the streets for demonstrations, the largest ever since the "Orange Revolution" in 2004.

Ukraine's domestic political disputes are never an isolated issue and they will surely become a geopolitical event in the region.

After the Cold War ended, geopolitical competition did not disappear, but has become increasingly fierce against the background of the global financial crisis. Ukraine has been caught between two of the world's geopolitical blocs, namely the West and Russia. As a result, any of its strategic choices will lead to intense interaction between neighboring powers.

The US has always attached great importance to Ukraine's geopolitical role. During the Clinton administration, the US offered great economic aid and helped in its democratization process. When George W. Bush was president, the US initiated "Color Revolutions" in former Soviet republics.

However, leaders from those republics failed to introduce democracy to their countries. When it comes to the Obama administration, the US no longer remains in the forefront of this region.

Instead, the EU began to promote its "Eastern Partnership" plan that aims to bring some of the republics such as Ukraine into its political and economic system so as to squeeze Russia's geopolitical and economic space.

As both the EU and Russia criticize each other for their interference in Ukraine's domestic affairs, the US, as the world's superpower, will definitely not sit still. It deals with Ukraine's domestic protests with a different approach from that of the EU and Russia.

First, the US openly supports the demonstrations by Ukraine's opposition forces. Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador in Ukraine, canceled his plan to return to the US and walked through the Independence Square, pumping up the enthusiasm of protesters with his counterparts from European Union countries.

Meanwhile, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland visited Ukraine and met opposition leaders. She also brought tea and cakes for protesters and said the US supports Ukraine's European choice.

Second, the US is publicly adding pressure to the Ukraine government. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at a December 2 briefing that the White House did not consider peaceful demonstrations "coup attempts." He also urged Ukraine's leaders to "respect their people's right to freedom of expression and assembly" and stressed the US' partnership with Ukraine depends on "a healthy democracy and the respect for universal values."

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry expressed "disgust" over the Ukraine government's crackdown on protesters.

Finally, the US also presses Russia. During her visit to Moscow, Nuland expressed the US' deep concern toward the situation in Ukraine and called upon Moscow to peacefully solve the issue and ensure Ukraine's "European future." All these have showed the US' clear stance in pushing Ukraine to choose Europe.

The crisis of Ukraine's integration into Europe reflects that the US-led West has never given up their intention to promote their version of democracy. Regardless of the restoration of US-Russian relations or the US' eastward strategy, neither will change the conservative nature of politics in the West.

The West will continue to promote its values of democracy in former Soviet republics and squeeze Russia's geopolitical space. Europe's plan for an "Eastern Partnership" is another form of the West's eastward expansion after the 2008 Russia-Georgia War.

Ukraine, stuck in competition among major global powers, unfortunately, has become their tool, and no one really cares about how the country can solve its economic problems.

The author is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European & Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

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