Lilia Shevtsova summarized results of the 10th Kyiv Security Forum

07 April 2017, 21:35

Lilia Shevtsova, leading researcher of the Royal Institute of International Relations Chatham House (Great Britain), summarized results of the 10th Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine.

"On the sidelines of the Forum, I saw a lot of similar, consensus views on the current historical moment, at the time in which we now live. This is a miserable moment, looks like inter-time when old mechanisms and norms no longer work, and the world order, to which we are accustomed, has changed", she said.

According to Lilia Shevtsova, today the European Union, unfortunately, looks like a "retirement home", and America even before yesterday looked like "it entrenches". The expert suggested that after air strikes on Syria the situation may change, but she did not try to predict in what direction. "In any case, with further development of this situation, we do not see much positive and favorable for Ukraine", she said.

At the same time, Lilia Shevtsova drew attention to another, positive side of the situation. In this context, she recalled that the 10th Kiev Security Forum was attended by the Prime Ministers of the Baltic States, who showed support to Ukraine.

Moreover, so-called "Marshall Plan" was prepared for Ukraine.

"Rose Gottemoeller, Deputy Secretary General of NATO, also was very cautious, but she gave you this signal - "we are with you". She said that Ukraine is a very important partner for NATO", Lilia Shevtsova reminded. She also expressed the conviction that in the present conditions the Western community can not give up, because it understands that Ukraine is a civilizational challenge, and "if they get defeated in Ukraine, they will never be able to protect themselves".

Individually, the expert touched on the situation in Russia. "We, Russian liberals, Russian democrats, are excluded from the political elite. We missed our chance to change our country, we allowed to return it into the 16th century. Ukrainians pay for this, and we pay for this in Russia", she stressed. At the same time, the speaker noted that the society has some positive signs, as evidenced by sociological surveys. So, today 63% of Russians, according to her information, would like to have good relations with an independent friendly Ukraine, and only 27% would like Russia to control Ukraine. 71% of the polled Russians would like to normalize relations with the West, while 17% is in favor of a certain confrontation.

Commenting on the situation in Ukraine, the expert noted that some Western politicians complain about the slow pace of the country's reform, in particular, in the fight against corruption. "But when I look at Ukraine from my observation tower in Moscow, I see an absolutely optimistic amazing landscape", Lilia Shevtsova said. She stressed that in the current dramatic situation of war and uncertainty in the West, "Ukraine turns a stumbling block into steps".

For reference:

Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 is an annual international event to high-level discussions on the current issues in the Black Sea region and wider Europe. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

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Lilia Shevtsova summarized results of the 10th Kyiv Security Forum

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