Conference on "Ukraine's Choice: Europe or Russia?"

Thank you, Radek, for that introduction. After the events of the last three weeks--and on International Human Rights Day--it’s difficult to imagine a more significant and relevant time to talk about Ukraine. You have assembled a very impressive group of speakers and I’m confident that this conference will be both stimulating and productive.

Ukrainians have taken a stand for democracy and have a tremendous opportunity to turn that stand into a giant step forward for their country. Yet, at the same time, they face an extremely delicate and precarious period. We hope that each and every Ukrainian--leaders and citizens alike--will choose to seize the moment before them.

Fortunately, thus far, impressive numbers of Ukrainians have made heartening and even inspiring choices. They chose to support a candidate in their country’s presidential election and they chose to vote. Then, when they became concerned by widespread and credible reports of fraud and abuse during the election process, they chose to defend their right to select their next leader democratically by standing up and speaking out in massive, peaceful demonstrations. Combating not only a corrupt process, but also sub-freezing temperatures, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians chose to show their support for freedom and democracy. And they chose to do so peacefully, ignoring the destructive calls of a few for violence.

Many more choices lie ahead as Ukrainians and their leaders work toward and beyond the new vote scheduled on December 26. For the United States, three of these choices are most important: avoiding violence; upholding Ukrainian law and international democratic standards; and respecting the will of the Ukrainian people.

The danger of violence is real and we have emphasized to all sides in the dispute the vital importance of avoiding the use of force. Leaders in both the Government and the opposition have a responsibility to preserve the peace, a responsibility that falls especially heavily on Ukrainian Government authorities.

Upholding Ukrainian law and international democratic standards is likewise essential. The Ukrainian Supreme Court took a critical step in this regard last week, when it invalidated an election that had been broadly condemned and called for investigation and prosecution of electoral violations. Moving forward, careful adherence to the law and to international democratic widely-accepted standards will be critical to the legitimacy of any leader and whatever government that emerges from the processes now underway. That legitimacy will likewise be vital to building stable democracy in Ukraine.

Respecting the will of the people is also fundamental to democracy. President Abraham Lincoln described our democracy as "government of the people, by the people, for the people." The hundreds of thousands who have braved the bitter cold in downtown Kiev and other cities have done so to defend this principle. All Ukrainians can be proud of their efforts. All must also work to ensure that the new balloting makes them equally proud.

The decisions that Ukraine’s leaders and people take in these areas will have a profound impact upon their country’s future. But what is happening in Ukraine is also of great importance to the United States. If peace and democracy prevail, Ukraine can do enormous good for the cause of democracy in the region and around the world. Ukrainians will become a model for standing up for what’s right, for defending their rights as voters, for demanding their leaders be democratically elected. Conversely, it would dampen the hopes of so many others if the new second round election in Ukraine, a country of 47 million people in the heart of Europe, did not reflect the will of the people and instead put in power leaders lacking legitimacy.

The success of democracy in Ukraine is also important to the United States because it will give Ukrainians the opportunity to accelerate their country’s political and economic development, deepen its integration with the Euro-Atlantic community, and enhance security and prosperity throughout the region. Ukraine will continue to determine its own future and its relationships with other countries and international organizations as it has done since independence in 1991. And good relations with both Russia and the West will be important to Ukraine and to broader peace and stability. But closer ties between Ukraine and the West will redound to the entire region’s benefit as they contribute to erasing lingering dividing lines in Europe.

Because Ukraine is so significant to us, we have consistently spoken out and acted to encourage a free, fair, and transparent election process, including in the campaign and on election day in Ukraine. During the course of the last year, we stressed this repeatedly to our Ukrainian interlocutors. We regret that this advice was not heeded, though we are pleased that Ukraine’s Supreme Court has given its leaders and its people another chance.

We also provided roughly $13.8 million in assistance to support a free, fair, and transparent election in Ukraine. International observers and domestic election observers were a key component of this effort. Importantly, as in all its similar assistance worldwide, the United States neither prescribed nor promoted any particular outcome, party, or candidate. Our efforts support a democratic process.

In the weeks since the flawed second round of the election on November 21, President Bush and Secretary Powell have expressed how disturbed we were by the conduct of the election and the importance of setting things right. President Bush said that "the validity of their election" was "in doubt" and that "the international community is watching very carefully." Secretary Powell made clear that "we cannot accept this result as legitimate" and called on Ukrainian leaders "to decide whether they are on the side of democracy or not, whether they will respect the will of the people or not."

We have not been alone in these words and actions. We have collaborated closely with our European partners in the OSCE and in NATO, in discussions with the European Union, and through bilateral contacts. We have welcomed the efforts of European leaders, including Polish President Kwasniewski, Lithuanian President Adamkus, and EU Secretary-General Solana, to mediate discussions between Ukraine’s government and opposition leaders. We will continue to work together with our European friends to help Ukraine through this most challenging period in the spirit of transatlantic cooperation.

Most immediately, we are supporting multiple efforts that will place thousands of international and domestic election monitors across Ukraine on December 26. Their presence is critical to ensuring that the new voting is not marred by the abuses that tarnished the first and second round of the vote. And, together with others in the international community, we call upon the Ukrainian government to organize a free, fair, and open election that meets international democratic standards.

In Washington, DC, there is a statue to the poet laureate Taras Shevchenko, who continues to serve as an inspiration for Ukrainian independence and freedom. "Will there be truth among people?" Shevchenko wrote 144 years ago, "There must be, otherwise the sun will rise and set on fire the whole land."

The United States believes truth will indeed prevail in Ukraine today, that the will of its people will be respected and reflected in its leadership. Then the power of democracy, and the power of the Ukrainian people, will shine brightly.