The West wants to ask Poroshenko how much concessions can be made?

Kyiv, September 25 (PolitNavigator, Yuriy Kovalchuk) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko recently met with President Obama in Washington, speaking at a joint session of Congress, and also made a public statement about his country’s confrontation with the Kremlin in the Atlantic Council.

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Although Poroshenko was asked many questions during his visit, there are three more key questions, the answer to which will help better understand his point of view about where Ukraine is heading, writes the American newspaper The Hill.

Question No. 1 – what other concessions is Poroshenko ready to make? The ceasefire protocol and all its 12 points are beneficial to the separatists and Russia itself. The subsequent change in legislation concerning local self-determination bodies in the Donbass also plays into the hands of Ukraine’s enemies. At the same time, while Poroshenko was able to claim victory by signing the EU agreement, he calmly gave in to EU pressure for a peaceful settlement with Russia and postponed the implementation of most of the financial part until the end of 2015, which is also overly favorable for Russia, writes “ The Hill."

It seems that Ukraine has come to terms with the fact that Donbass will be lost in any case. At the same time, it is quite possible that Russia will allow the conflict to cool down for now, but once 2015 arrives and it is time to sign the rest of the agreement with the EU, Russia will make enormous efforts to derail this agreement. Therefore, Poroshenko and the Rada are making too many concessions and losing much-needed support within the country by agreeing to delay the full implementation of the agreement with the EU today, the publication reports.

And if we talk about the loss of Donbass, then Poroshenko must answer how this situation differs from what happened in Georgia and South Ossetia, Abkhazia? Russia proved in Georgia that the benefits of freezing separatist conflicts in countries that the Russian Federation wants to control are worth the negative diplomatic and financial consequences. Knowing that increasing pressure on Kyiv could force the international community to act, Russia instead simply continues to stoke instability in Ukraine. Russia can simply raise the temperature of the conflict in Donbass whenever it needs to. Therefore, Poroshenko must clearly decide on further steps aimed at removing these regions from Russian influence before they irreversibly fall under the control of the Russian Federation.

The third question for Poroshenko is his plans to fight corruption and reform the state apparatus. After all, it was corruption that led to the overthrow of the previous president, Yanukovych, and his abrupt abandonment of the EU deal. Leading anti-corruption official Tatiana Chornovol resigned in protest in August. The Rada, praising itself for its pro-European position, at the same time rejected Poroshenko’s bill on the creation of an Anti-Corruption Bureau. Bribery is rampant in Ukraine; one out of three Ukrainians demands a bribe and eight out of ten give them, writes an American newspaper.

While Ukrainians are united in the fight against Moscow and pro-Russian separatists, endemic corruption and Ukraine's failure to provide essential services to its citizens is causing many Ukrainians to lose faith in their new government. If Ukraine wants to remain a united nation, it must show its citizens that it can take care of them. Holding early parliamentary elections is a step in the right direction, but it is only the first step. To get to the root of the problem, Poroshenko must openly confront corruption and reform his flawed and ineffective government institutions. Time will tell what additional measures he will take in this direction, but if he seeks to gain US support, he needs to focus on these efforts, The Hill reports.

President Poroshenko's problems are serious and complex. He is leading the nation through a transition period that is far from guaranteeing a happy outcome, and next to him is an extremely influential neighbor who does not share Ukraine’s European choice. By answering these three questions, Poroshenko can help the US develop the more definitive policies needed to support the people of Ukraine.