This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIEV 000965 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KFLU NATO
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: DFM KHANDOHIY, U/S DOBRIANSKY DISCUSS FM 
TARASYUK'S DC VISIT, HOLODOMOR MONUMENT, AVIAN INFLUENZA 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Sheila Gwaltney for reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: In a March 3 meeting with Under Secretary 
Dobriansky and Ambassador, DFM Volodymyr Khandohiy pushed for 
a Presidential drop-by during FM Tarasyuk's March 9 meeting 
with the Vice President in Washington.  Dobriansky and 
Ambassador frankly described the poor timing (in view of the 
unsettled state of a Ukraine-Russia natural gas deal) of 
Khandohiy's request for favorable USG consideration of a 
bilateral statement on energy security.  Dobriansky said she 
would check further into the background of what Khandohiy 
described as a hold-up in the approval process of a 
"Holodomor" (1932-33 Stalin-induced famine in Ukraine) 
monument in Washington.  Dobriansky suggested that the 
Ukraine-inspired Community of Democratic Choice meeting in 
Vilnius should implement a specific program or initiative. 
She fended off Khandohiy's suggestion to hold a special U.N. 
General Assembly session on the topic of avian influenza. 
Khandohiy said the Ukrainian government (GOU) would more 
actively implement a NATO public education campaign after the 
March 26 parliamentary and local elections.  End summary. 
 
Tarasyuk's March 9 Visit to Washington 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) The March 3 meeting with DFM Khandohiy came a day 
after U/S Dobriansky's meetings with President Yushchenko and 
PM Yekhanurov, both of which Khandohiy attended (septels). 
At the end of the March 3 meeting, DFM Khandohiy focused on 
deliverables for FM Tarasyuk's March 9-10 meetings in 
Washington.  The GOU was pleased that Tarasyuk would meet 
with the Vice President; Khandohiy delicately inquired about 
the possibility of a Presidential drop-by.  He implied that 
the Ukrainians were hoping to maintain parity with, or 
one-up, Russia during Tarasyuk's Washington visit, coming on 
the heels of Russian FM Lavrov's March 6-7 visit.  Dobriansky 
replied that she was not certain that the President would be 
in Washington during Tarasyuk's visit. 
 
¶3. (C) Khandohiy also inquired about the possibility of 
signing a bilateral statement on energy security during 
Tarasyuk's visit.  The Ukrainian government had welcomed the 
strong and positive USG support during the initial stages of 
its dispute with Russia over natural gas supplies.  Khandohiy 
sought continuing favorable U.S. support in the form of an 
energy security statement.  Dobriansky and Ambassador 
stressed that, in the context of the questionable deal with 
Russia and questions about RosUkrEnergo's role, circumstances 
did not favor such a statement.  Khandohiy urged them to 
consider the Ukrainian request favorably, pointing out that 
the supply arrangements for Russian natural gas still had not 
been conclusively finalized. 
 
The Holodomor Memorial 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Khandohiy asked for State Department support to 
overcome Department of the Interior/National Park Service 
opposition to the establishment in Washington of a monument 
to the victims of the Ukrainian "Holodomor" (the 
Stalin-engineered famine in 1932-33, leading to an estimated 
10 million deaths).  The House of Representatives had voted 
November 16, 2005 in favor of allocating land for the 
monument, but in order for the bill to be enacted, the Senate 
needed to have passed a similar measure by February 16. 
Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oleh Shamshur had testified 
in favor of the monument during a recent Senate hearing. 
Unfortunately, the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks had 
not passed the bill to the Senate floor due to opposition of 
the National Park Service, which argue that a specific 
Holodomor memorial was unnecessary since another memorial to 
victims of communism was under consideration.  Dobriansky 
said she was hearing about the issue of the Holodomor 
monument for the first time and would look into it when she 
returned to Washington. 
 
Community of Democratic Choice 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Dobriansky noted that she had arrived in Kiev from 
Mali, where she attended the launch of the Malian 
chairmanship of Community of Democracies (CD).  At the CD 
Convening Group meeting in Mali, she had spoken about how 
Ukraine had given the Community of Democracy mechanism a 
regional expression by establishing the Community of 
Democratic Choice (CDC).  In the run-up to the next CDC 
meeting in Vilnius, Dobriansky urged that the primary 
countries motivating CDC -- Ukraine, Georgia, Lithuania, and 
Romania -- focus on a concrete initiative or program that 
would make the CDC relevant to regional needs.  This could 
take the form of a roundtable discussion of best practices 
that emerging democracies could employ, or the importance of 
civil society in a new democracy, Dobriansky offered.  The 
theme could be integrated into the CDC meeting.  For example, 
if the role of civil society were under discussion, the CDC 
could invite NGOs from countries such as Belarus that were 
struggling to develop democratically. 
 
¶6. (C) Khandohiy said he understood and agreed with 
Dobriansky's suggestion.  CDC organizers were wrestling with 
the challenge that she had highlighted.  While planning 
remained in the formative stages, they were thinking about 
possible initiatives regarding the so-called frozen 
conflicts.  Georgia, for one, was dealing with two frozen 
conflicts on its territory (South Ossetia and Abhazia), while 
Ukraine and Romania had a direct interest in a frozen 
conflict in Moldova (Transnistria). 
 
Avian Influenza - partnerships and cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7. (SBU) Khandohiy expressed his appreciation for USG efforts 
on avian influenza (AI) after Dobriansky briefed him on the 
concrete measures being taken to improve Ukraine's ability to 
combat a possible outbreak of AI.  She said the issue was not 
just one of public health, but was also a transborder issue 
affecting national security.  In recognition of this reality, 
the USG was coordinating its own efforts on AI with the 
governments of Canada and Mexico; Dobriansky urged Ukraine to 
consider a similar regional approach based on partnership to 
the problem.  Khandohiy responded that Ukraine had floated 
the idea of holding a special UN General Assembly session 
devoted to avian influenza and asked for Dobriansky's views 
on the merits of this proposal.  Dobriansky said a special 
session would not be necessary in light of the establishment 
of an international partnership to combat AI.  The 
international partnership brought together representatives of 
the ministries of agriculture and health from over 88 
countries and relevant international organizations.  The EU 
was preparing to hold an international partnership meeting in 
early June that would also have a focus on the situation in 
Europe.  The United Nations could take up AI, but perhaps 
this could be done as part of its regular session, Dobriansky 
suggested. 
 
Progress towards NATO: public outreach 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Khandohiy said a third of the Ukrainian public favored 
NATO membership, a third opposed it, and a third was 
undecided.  A positive NATO signal on a Membership Action 
Plan (MAP) for Ukraine would provide the momentum necessary 
to change undecided votes to positive ones.  MFA officials 
were traveling to various cities and towns of Ukraine, 
engaging in meetings, seminars, and other efforts to inform 
the Ukrainian public better about NATO.  The GOU had provided 
the MFA with a modest sum of about $4-5 million for public 
education outreach.  While the funding was aimed primarily at 
boosting Ukraine's image abroad, the MFA also hoped to 
implement a domestic education campaign over the 2006-2007 
timeframe.  The campaign was in low gear for the moment, but 
the MFA hoped to accelerate it after the March 26 
parliamentary and local elections. 
 
¶9. (U) Visit Embassy Kiev's classified website: 
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. 
Gwaltney