The then President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma personally asked the British “premier” Tony Blair to support his country’s ambitions to become a member of the EU in 2002. Within the Blair Administration there was a hard internal struggle in favor of the “European vocation” of Ukraine and against the “too rosy” vision of the Russian president Vladimir Putin displayed by the former Labor “premier” and by other Western leaders.
“Knowing that you are a sincere friend from Ukraine, I have high hopes for your personal support this exceptionally important issue,” Kuchma wrote to Blair 21 years ago, according to official documents that have been come to light this week.
The prevailing view in the Blair Administration was that of then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, granting Ukraine the same “special neighborhood status” with Russia than Belarus and Moldova and resisting to support their entry into the EU.
“Ukrainians are depressed by the fact that most of Europe and the United States are discrediting them,” wrote Blair’s special envoy for Europe, however, Roger Liddle. “We have a very rosy view of Putin, who is seen as a smart and presentable politician, but not as a democratic hero.”
Liddle advised Blair to “reinforce shaky democracy and economic stability in Ukraine” as the EU’s future eastern border and “as a formidable barrier against the resurgence of Russian imperialism“. “Kuchma may not be a nice politician, but he plays a very important role and he sees Putin every four or six weeks,” concluded the adviser for Europe.