New instrument

Ukrainian diplomats and international affairs experts now have a place where they can socialize informally. The Diplomatic Club opened last Wednesday as part of the celebrations marking the 90th anniversary of Ukraine’s diplomatic service. The club was founded on the initiative of Arsenii Yatseniuk, Minister of Foreign Affairs and founder of the Open Ukraine Foundation. Yatseniuk took part in the opening ceremony as the newly-elected speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. The first meeting of the club, which was held at the Sky Art Cafe, part of the PinchukArtCenter, was attended by three of Ukraine’s ex-foreign ministers: Anatolii Zlenko, Borys Tarasiuk, and Kostiantyn Hryshchenko; Lydia Shulhyn, the daughter-in-law of Ukraine’s first foreign minister Oleksandr Shulhyn (1917-18); and former president Leonid Kuchma.

After thanking the philanthropist Viktor Pinchuk “for supporting practically all the global initiatives that promote the image of Ukraine and make this country better and more beautiful,” Yatseniuk said: “After much thought we decided to set up a diplomatic club. I think this is one of the instruments of debate and contacts that exist in every country of the world, offering an opportunity for people to share their experiences and invite former foreign ministers to Ukraine from all over the world, including the G7 or G8, as well as perhaps future foreign ministers, prominent political figures, and representatives of non-governmental organizations. This should be a serious forum for exchanging opinions and promoting Ukraine internationally. I think this initiative will continue. I sincerely hope that each of those present today will invite several important and outstanding figures to this place so that we can develop our own vision and our own thinking, and turn it into one more instrument of Ukraine’s development.”

Yatseniuk expressed the hope that the club will become a place for arriving at mutual understanding and be useful to our state.

The veteran of Ukrainian diplomacy, ex-minister Anatolii Zlenko, supported Yatseniuk’s initiative. He noted that he had long nurtured this idea, which he proposed to the president. “I proceeded from the fact that we have reached the point where we must rally in some way. First of all, the foreign diplomatic course is very amply represented. Second, our Ukrainian diplomats and political elite should have a place for exchanging opinions,” Zlenko said. He also expressed the hope that the club will function on a permanent basis, not just from one event to another. Recalling his experience of visiting diplomatic clubs in various countries, Zlenko suggested that Yatseniuk find a separate building so that our Diplomatic Club will become a mainspring of diplomatic work.

“If we opened our own diplomatic restaurant, like in other countries, we would greatly benefit from this. I think we have amassed ample experience during the years of independence. We have things to share, both successes and failures,” Zlenko noted, adding that such a venue could be used for reaching a consensus around foreign-policy priorities and for disseminating the far-reaching ideas of European and Euro-Atlantic integration that are on the agenda now.

Borys Tarasiuk said that founding the club was a brilliant idea. He hopes that the Diplomatic Club will not only be a closed-door assembly of experts, politicians, and political scientists, but will also promote a better understanding of Ukrainian foreign policy within Ukrainian society.

Kostiantyn Hryshchenko commented that establishing the club was an important initiative. He thinks the Diplomatic Club will become an instrument for reaching a consensus around the foreign policy sphere. The ex-minister expressed the hope that the club will be informal, which will allow everybody to express opinions that will not necessarily be made public. “This should help us develop a professional approach to the challenges that our state is facing,” Hryshchenko noted. He also called upon future members to discuss anything they want in this club while remaining friends and respecting the professionalism and personal qualities of all its members. “I hope that, irrespective of political circumstances, we will be supporting those who founded this center in the long-term interests of our state, no matter what internal political differences may exist,” Hryshchenko emphasized.

Leonid Kuchma called the founding of the club a good initiative. Ukrainian ministers have a huge amount of diplomatic experience. “If this experience stays only with them, this will be the fault of everybody and, first of all, the foreign ministry,” the former president pointed out. He added that this experience should be duly utilized and the club should become a place for debates.