Вінніпеґ Український № 3 (49) (March 2019)

UW: Canadian government foreign policy is based on trade diversification
and working with like-minded countries to support multilateral institutions.
Do you think Canadian foreign policy needs to be revised considering
geopolitical flux and tensions with the USA and China that the government
has to deal with right now?
BORYS
I do not think I am in a position to advice on how to change foreign and
domestic policies. Canada is a very experienced member of the international
community and I believe it has enough resources to deal with
the international or internal challenges.
My personal opinion is that Canada is too oriented toward the USA.
The USA market is significant, but, no single country, including Canada,
should rely on its economic relationship with only one partner; especially
if the partner is governed by ‘unpredictable’ leaders. Ukraine experienced
the same situation with Russia. The Russian aggression acted
as a catalyst for Ukraine to reorient itself onto other world markets.
Currently the European Union is Ukraine’s primary trading partner accounting
for 42% of its trade.
China has become a serious economic geopolitical player. I believe
Canada is too large to follow another country’s policies when dealing
with China. Canada must define its own approach to its relationship with
China, without forgetting its commitments as a NATO and G7 member.
The current development of events in the world testifies about a
new geopolitical reality: There is not a single country that is exempt
from the aggressive behaviour of Russia. The international community
should not only express its solidarity with Ukraine with the expectation
that Russia will change, but it should be ready to defend itself from
Russian aggression.
DV: What is your message to Canadians who are questioning the necessity
of continuous support that Canada provides to Ukraine?
BORYS
Last week, President Donald Tusk, European Council President, in his
speech at Ukraine’s Parliament special session dedicated to the fifth anniversary
of the dramatic Maidan events, stated that “without Ukraine
there would be no Europe.” President Tusk said that he “could tell how
his colleagues feel about the European Union based on how they feel
about Ukraine, which I believe is an accurate statement.”
You have just mentioned that Canada protects the multilateral institutions
and free democratic world’s values. I believe that all responsible
states have to defend the values and the principles on which international
peace and order are based. Russia has destroyed all known
principles staring with The Charter of the United Nations and ending
with The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances of 1994. This
is not about solidarity with Ukraine, this is about supporting the fundamentals
of international peace and order, is about fighting the ruthless
principles aggressor who is trying to divide the free world.
UW: What motivates you to remain in Ukrainian politics, particularly in
Batkivschyna (Fatherland) party?
BORYS
I feel some negative connotations in your question [smiles]. As you
know, I used to lead the “People's Movement of Ukraine” (Narodnyi
Rukh) party for 10 years. Since mid 2000s Rukh was a close partner
of Batkivschyna and Yulia Tymoshenko. We were together during the
presidential election of 2004 when she made Victor Yushchenko the
president: the entire campaign was on her shoulders because Yushchenko
was sick. What happened after the victory is that Yushchenko
turned against the government of Tymoshenko. Many people, including
myself saw a nationwide prophet in Yushchenko, but it turned out he
was not one. Turning against his partners was his political mistake and
we all know what happened as a result. Since that time, my motivation
does not lean toward a person or toward a political force, but toward
what is good for the country. It is my opinion, that what is good for the
country now is Batkivschyna and Tymoshenko, especially when taking
into account the danger inherent in a potential victory by Zelenksy.
Sadly, under the current President, the peoples’ lives in Ukraine have
not improved as the president promised. His own fortune has grown but
he could not fulfill his promises to end the war or stop corruption.
Special thanks to James Kominowski, Ostap Skrypnyk and Denys Volkov
for facilitating this interview. УВ
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- MARCH 2019 - UKRAINIAN WINNIPEG
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