Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Tony Blair, Elton John discuss war and peace in …
350 global leaders from politics, business, society and media from more than 20 countries gathered in Kyiv for the YES Annual Meeting September 10-12 to discuss new Ukraine’s impact on Europe and the world.
The Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting was organized by Victor Pinchuk, Ukraine’s second-richest man, in 2004 to discuss Ukraine’s prospect of joining the EU. It first took place at the famous Livadia Palace in Yalta on the Crimean peninsula, where Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill met to discuss parameters of a post-war world.
Pinchuk described the YES Annual Meeting as a gathering of friends who could engage in a robust and constructive dialogue, adding that the forum would continue to play a historical role as a powerful platform towards “working for the benefit of Ukraine, and a new Ukraine.”
Participants included former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former US President Bill Clinton, Sir Elton John, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, ex-Managing Director of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn, as well as several other European politicians, businessmen, and philanthropists.
The Ukrainian side was represented by President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, former president Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and Vitaliy Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv.
In his opening remarks, Poroshenko said that for the first time in the past year-and-a-half that Ukraine has not suffered any deaths over the past 24 hours, signaling hope for true peace.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
Tony Blair expressed solidarity with Ukraine’s new leadership and urged the population to support the far-reaching goals of politicians, even if the path to these goals is challenging. He stressed that reforms and changes are painful, but critical. “Change the system where it is necessary. Politicians cannot make such changes on their own, they need support,” he said.
The former British prime minister added that millions of people in Europe and around the world support Ukrainians in their struggle. “You are carrying on your shoulders the hope not only of your country, but in my opinion, the hope and values of entire Europe,” he concluded.
Main topics included discussions on the strengthening of NATO, international support in implementing reforms, the need for decentralisation and democracy, how to fight corruption, sanctions against Russia, the annexation of Crimea, energy efficiency in Ukraine, reforms of the security and defense sectors, and how to prevent Ukraine from becoming a cold conflict zone.
“I can say one thing with regard to the EU and the US: Ukraine should be on their radar,” Yatsenyuk said. “The US is making efforts to settle global problems while the EU is dealing with its internal issues. They have their own internal political agenda and it is very important for Ukraine to be a key priority for the EU and the US because Russia is fighting not only against Ukraine; the Russian president is fighting against the free world.”
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Ukraine requires greater international support, US Presidential candidate Donald Trump, who joined the summit via conference call, said.
Donald Trump
The highlight of the second day was a speech by Sir Elton John on ‘Tolerance and Human rights – Responsibility of Business and Social Leaders’.
“Being tolerant and inclusive is not only the morally right thing to do, for the new Ukraine it is the smart thing to do. Basic fairness is an investment in human capital, and human capital is what drives business,” said the British rock star. The singer played two huge open air concerts in Kyiv in 2007 and 2012 to raise awareness of the country’s AIDS epidemic, and his foundation has supported over 40 HIV programmes in the country since 2001.
Sir Elton John
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission (left)
Former NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Photos: YES @ 2015
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