A veteran of the Soviet school of diplomacy, Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko has pursued a pro-Western policy while Ukraine's relations with the West have gone from crisis to crisis
the foreign ministry of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He continued to serve as foreign minister of the newly-independent state until 1994.
In his second spell as foreign minister, which began in 2000, Zlenko has pursued a cautiously pro-Western policy in a period that has been marked by an unprecedented deterioration in Ukraine’s relations with the West.
Career diplomat
Born in the Kyiv Oblast village of Stavyshche in 1938, Zlenko first wanted to become a diplomat when he was still in school. But it was a long time before he was able to realize that ambition.
After finishing school, Zlenko started working in a mine in Luhansk Oblast.
“Not everything worked out the way I was hoping it would,” he recalled. “This period was a real test for me as a young man. Miners are a special breed of people, and they endure a lot in life.”
Zlenko subsequently served in the army. After he completed his military service, he entered the Kyiv Shevchenko University. On graduation in 1967, Zlenko was the only student in his class to be offered a job in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
To this day, Zlenko recalls fondly his impressions from his first foreign assignment, when he attended a UNESCO meeting in Paris in 1968.
“I had never been abroad before, and here I was really lucky,” he said. “I remember what a joy it was when we got away to watch the film ‘Doctor Zhivago.’ The secret service agent who was accompanying us, our ‘tovarishch,’ didn’t suspect we’d gone to see the movie. It was unforgettable. Whenever I hear the music from the film, it takes me back to Paris in 1968.”
A Communist Party member from 1962 to 1991, Zlenko gradually rose through the ranks of the foreign service to head the ministry in 1990. In that post, he had to cope with the changes that accompanied the creation of an independent state.
“During this period, we effectively had to create a whole new Foreign Ministry,” he said. “We had to work out the conceptual foundations for diplomatic activity. I believe we were successful in creating a diplomatic service. When my successors came, everything was ready for them. They only had to work quietly at perfecting the system.”
Zlenko left his post after the victory of Leonid Kuchma in the 1994 presidential elections.
“Nobody pushed me into signing my resignation,” he recalled. “I knew that the new president would bring in a new team. But I knew I had to stay in the ministry because I could not imagine life outside diplomacy. I had a friendly chat with the president and he told me: ‘Choose whatever post you wish.’”
Zlenko chose to become ambassador to the United Nations. After three years in New York, Zlenko was appointed ambassador to France.
There, he succeeded in putting Ukraine on the French diplomatic map, according to Viktor Zamyatin, an expert with the Europe-XXI fund.
“France is a peculiar country, especially where Ukraine is concerned,” Zamyatin said. “Paris only started to take notice of Ukraine and include it in its calculations during Zlenko’s period as ambassador.”
Zlenko described Paris, where he has spent a total of 16 years, as his favorite city. It was there in 2000 that he learned that he would be returning to Kyiv to serve as foreign minister again.
“I was not particularly thrilled to become foreign minister again,” Zlenko said. “It was somewhat unexpected. Though there had been some rumors of the possibility floating in the backrooms, it was hard to believe.”
Westernizing civil servant
Zlenko’s close acquaintances identify two qualities that have helped him in his second spell at the Foreign Ministry.
First, he is strongly committed to Ukraine’s pro-Western orientation. He has made development of relations with the European Union a priority.
Second, Zlenko is a product of the Soviet bureaucratic and diplomatic school, which put a premium on caution. Kuchma has described Zlenko as a diplomat who never says “yes” or “no.” In virtually all circumstances, Zlenko’s duties as a civil servant take precedence over his personal preferences.
“Zlenko is not a politician. He’s a civil servant, and he’ll protect the interests of whatever political force needs his services. He is without political ambition,” Zamyatin said.
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Sushko, director of the Center for Peace, Conversion and Foreign Policy, points to another Zlenko characteristic: pragmatic conformism. While this may contribute to his job security at the Foreign Ministry, it also means that his role may often be reduced to implementing policies created by others.
Traditionally, though, it is not ministers who determine foreign policy in Ukraine. Zlenko’s predecessor, the strongly pro-Western Borys Tarasyuk, was just as circumscribed in his activity.
“Zlenko controls Ukraine’s diplomatic service, but not its foreign policy,” Sushko said. “At best, he has only partial access to the levers for influencing strategic decision-making in foreign policy; at worst, he is a mere executor. To some extent, he benefits from that. After all, nobody is going to blame him for the failures of Ukraine’s foreign policy if they perceive that the important decisions are made elsewhere.”
In particular, the ministry has not played an active role in developing relations with Russia. Speaking off the record, Foreign Ministry officials revealed that when the presidents of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed on Feb. 22 to create a free-trade zone and coordinate economic policy, Zlenko heard about it first from television news reports.
However, this limited sphere of activity does not mean that Zlenko is incapable of independent action and he has done his best to defend Ukraine’s interests as he sees them.
This has reportedly led to a rift with Anatoly Orel, who heads the foreign policy department of the Presidential Administration. From time to time, Zlenko has taken it upon himself to “correct” the foreign policy line originating from the Presidential Administration and voiced by the president. These interventions have reportedly included curbing enthusiasm for membership of the Eurasian Economic Community, a CIS grouping promoted by Russia.
Crisis management
One Ukrainian diplomat described Zlenko as an ideal minister for a period of stability. Unfortunately, the country has seen little stability in the last two and a half years. For most of that time, it has been in a state of permanent crisis.
The Foreign Ministry has felt the impact of the tapes scandal and U.S. accusations that Kuchma approved sale of Kolchuga radar systems to Iraq.
“Conditions were not healthy for normal work: the internal and external situations developed in a really bad way,” Zlenko said.
Instead of focusing on advancing Ukraine’s integration with the European Union, it has been kept busy trying to prevent the country from falling into international isolation.
If the West has remained willing to engage with Ukraine, that is probably thanks, at least in part, to Zlenko and his team. They have been able to exploit the international situation to change the character of Ukraine’s relations with NATO. It is rumored that Zlenko played a key role in persuading Kuchma of the need to apply for NATO membership last spring.
Zlenko’s biggest concern at present is normalizing relations with Washington, which deteriorated significantly during his time in office.
Now, in the aftermath of the Iraq war, it looks as though the tension between Ukraine and the United States is easing.
In late March, Zlenko was still cautious in his assessment: “I wouldn’t say that we are seeing major changes in our relations. But on both sides there is an evident will to improve them.”
However, it is unlikely that Zlenko will be around to complete that process. In June, he will celebrate his 65th birthday, and the law on state service will compel him to resign his office. He is likely to be offered an ambassadorial post. Among the possible destinations mentioned are Spain and Switzerland.
This article was originally published in Russian in Korrespondent magazine on April 15 as part of its series devoted to the Top 100 most influential individuals in the country.
