KIEV, Ukraine — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked off a tour of former Soviet-bloc countries Friday by quietly warning Ukraine’s new president not to backtrack on the democratic reforms ushered in by the 2004 Orange Revolution.
In elections in February, President Victor Yanukovych defeated the pro-Western leaders who led the massive democracy demonstrations six years ago. Since then, he has alarmed Ukraine’s opposition and raised concerns in Washington by moving swiftly to improve his country’s frigid relations with Russia. The Ukrainian parliament recently scrapped the country’s bid to join NATO.
Clinton made clear that the Obama administration is not troubled, provided Yanukovych’s intent is simply to come up with a more “balanced” foreign policy, involving Russia as well as the European Union and the United States. She noted that Ukraine decided this year to participate in exercises with the U.S. military.
She expressed concern, however, about a string of incidents in which Ukrainian journalists and civic activists have complained of facing harassment or censorship.
“I’ve discussed the importance of defending these rights with your president,” Clinton told students in an ornate, white-columned hall at the 19th-century Kiev Polytechnic Institute on Friday evening. “He has made a commitment to uphold Ukraine’s democracy, to uphold the rule of law, to maintain respect for human rights.”
Promoting democracy is a major theme of Clinton’s trip, which will also take her to Poland, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Critics have accused the Obama administration of soft-pedaling democracy as it pursues a pragmatic foreign policy that includes what it calls a “reset” of relations with Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko pointed out to reporters that the country’s news media continue to freely criticize the government, which he called “evidence we believe in openness and transparency.”
