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Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood Roundtable Series

Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood Roundtable Series began when a number of Ukrainian and American public and private institutions convened in April of 2000 to consider ways to increase the level of dialogue/cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine.

These deliberations gave rise to a commitment: to convene an annual conference that would bring together prominent representatives from academia, the private sector, and the governments of Ukraine and the United States to first stimulate and then monitor Ukraine’s progress toward stronger bilateral relations with the United States.

Eventually, the forum series came to expand its focus by looking into the additional possibility of Ukraine’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic community as a whole (stronger bilateral relations with Canada; EU membership; NATO membership)

Twenty-four events, organized as trilogies designed to study the overarching issues that Ukraine’s ‘Euro-Atlantic quest’ might encounter, have now been held, including three special gatherings (2011-2013) run specifically to address situational matters facing Ukraine (under the Yanukovych regime) before a return to the original process was made.

The following distinguished individuals have graced the UA Quest RT Series with presentations:

UKRAINE

A. Yatseniuk, A. Kinakh, B. Tarasyuk, A. Hrytsenko, A. Parubiy, Y. Yekhanurov, V. Groysman,
G. Udovenko, O. Rybachuk, P. Kachur, O. Danilov, D. Razumkov, A. Zahorodnyuk, H. Hopko,
U. Suprun, H. Nemyria, I. Mitiukov, V. Pyatnytski, Y. Lutsenko, S. Kvit, I. Klympush-Tsintsadze,
V. Ohryzko, Y. Chervonenko, P. Martynenko, V. Stelmakh, R. Shpek, O. Kryvdyk, V. Shandra,
S. Shevchuk, V. Nalyvaichenko, L. Holopatyuk, L. Kadenyuk, R. Mashovets, O. Skipalsky,
M. Zabrodsky, V. Muzhenko, I. Kabanenko, K. Hryshchenko, A. Shevchenko, V. Kuchynskyi,
Y. Scherbak, A. Buteiko, V. Khandohiy, O. Shamshur, Y. Sergeyev, O. Motsyk, A. Veselovski,
V. Chaly, V. Yelchenko, O. Markarova, M. Popovych, V. Vyatrovych, Y. Kaminsky, O. Sushko,

EUROPEAN UNION & RUSSIA

J. Onyszkiewicz, V. Landsbergis, P. Naimski, G. Jeszensky, J. Sherr, E. Koelsch, C. Hartzell,
A. Gross, G. Burghardt, A. De Lecea, A. Bruzga, J. Steinoff, G. Paturalska, Y. Liuk, H. Wujec,
F. Muller, R. Kacer, V. Usackas, M. Riekstins, K. Scharioth, J. Reiter, P. Zalewski, P. Nomina,
J. Gratz,  A. Pildegovics, A. Pangratis, F. Rivasseau, J. De Vallera, I. Chalupec, O. Lutsevych,
C. Stachetti, K. G. Wellman, A. Kumzha, R. Schafers, O. Hansen, P. Demes, H. Lax, M. Beck,
A. Paul, P. Zurawski vel Grajewski, A. Umland, N. Lange, J. Pieklo, K. Bobinski, R. Pszeczel,
E. Bos, M. Gahler, V. Spanu, H. Kroner, D, Schubel, J. M. P. Teixeira, M. Swiecicki, J. Kjaer,
V. Igrunov, A. Lebedev, S. Markov, S. Belkowski, A. Piontkowski, A. Berdnikov,  G. Shorokov

UNITED STATES & CANADA

C. Levin, M. McConnell, J. McCain, J. Biden, R. Lugar, R. Wicker, R. Holbrooke, P. Dobriansky,
Z. Brzezinski, P. Wolfowitz, B. Cardin, R. Portman, M. Albright, T. Ridge, P. Gordon, D. Russell,
D. Kramer, D. Wilson, A. Wayne, I. Brzezinski, C. Smith, S. Levin, D. Davis, N. Lowey, B. Boyle,
B. Fitzpatrick, C. Weldon, M. Kaptur, A. Harris, D. Fried, M. McFaul, A. Vershbow, R. Popadiuk,
W. Miller, S. Pifer, C. Pascual, J. Herbst, W. Taylor, J. Tefft, W. Courtney, K. Smith, K. Volker,
M. Carpenter, C. Wallender, W. Clark. Breedlove, B. Hodges, M. Montgomery, H. Pirchner,
K. Parker, A. Stent, A. Aslund, A. Cohen, S. Blank, J. Bugajski, G. Howard, S. Plokhii, S. Nix,
K. Fox, L. Luciuk, R. Waschuk, J. Sinclair, A. Robinson, J. Bezan, B. Wrzesnewskyj, D. Fraser


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Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Future International Forum Series

The origins of the Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Future International Forum Series can be traced to the gratifying, often exhilarating, work that all the various sponsors and patrons have done together during the last two decades organizing the Ukraine’s Quest for Mature Nation Statehood Roundtable Series.

In late 2006, the UA Quest RTS organizers decided to harness the momentum generated by their work Stateside and channel it into a new, internationally-based discussion series about the single most critical issue facing contemporary Ukraine —i.e., its Euro-Atlantic Future—that would begin June (2007) in Kyiv, Ukraine’s gold-domed capital.

The anticipated first gathering, the Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Future International Forum I was held in Kyiv, at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, on June 11-13 2007. More than 80 government and non-governmental representatives from among Ukraine’s neighbors and partners, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the Slovak Republic, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, spoke at the three-day conference. Nearly 320 interested individuals registered to be participants in the event.

Seeing the interest shown in the inaugural event, the organizers decided to chance running three events a year: one in Washington, a second in Ukraine [Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Donetsk], and a final annual gathering in one of the various capitals of Europe [Berlin, Warsaw, Brussels, London, Paris] with Ottawa as a possible candidate as well; the first would remain under the Quest name and the last two would carry the new Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Future moniker.

Seven UEAF symposia have now been held, including a long-promised UEAF forum in Canada:

Also kindly note UEAF/IF affiliate events:

Additionally in 2013 (September 23), the UA EAF Series held a joint event with the UA Quest RT Series focusing on Divining the Outcome of the [November] EP Summit in Vilnius.

In 2023, the UEAF Series joined the US-UA BNS Forum XI: Let the Reconstruction Process Begin – But Who, What, How, When, Where?

In April 2024. the UA EAF Series decided to partake in a Free Nations of Post Russia Forum Series event hosted by the Jamestown Foundation entitled: Russia’s Rupture and the Western Policy Agenda. Full coverage of the gathering is available on YouTube here.

 

 

US-Ukraine Security Dialogue Series

In his remarks at the UA Quest Roundtable V Patron Dinner in September 2004, Representative Curt Weldon suggested a regularly scheduled set of discussions that would track the progress of Ukraine’s professed “Euro-Atlantic” ambitions specifically in the realm of “security affairs” was needed.

He further suggested that the forums concentrate on two core tasks: (1) examining/evaluating Ukraine’s attempts to deepen “strategic” bilateral ties with the United States and (2) monitoring the pace of Ukraine’s NATO accession process. He promised to sponsor all such discussions and to provide the venues for the said gatherings on Capitol Hill.

CUSUR, newly formed at the time, and the American Foreign Policy Council, a long-time sponsoring organization of the UA Quest Series, took Rep. Weldon at his word and placed upon themselves the responsibility of setting in motion a “dialogue series” for senior-level representatives from each nation’s respective military establishments to exchange views on a wide range of defense-related issues.

The dialogues, planned as annual events, would be geared to review joint operations by US and Ukrainian armed forces from the Balkans to Iraq as well as examine other areas of bilateral “strategic” interest, including what Rep. Weldon fondly hoped would be US-Ukraine cooperation on Missile Defense. And, as envisioned by the good Congressman, the discussions would monitor the pace of Ukraine’s NATO accession process.

The US-Ukrainian Security Dialogue Series has now managed fourteen major events:

Speakers have included:

  • US Representative Curt Weldon (Vice Chair/HR Homeland Security Committee)
  • UA Ambassador to the US Oleh Shamshur
  • Dr. Jennifer Moroney (RAND)
  • Cooperative Threat Reduction Director James Reid (Dept. of Defense)
  • Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer
  • US Dept. of State Ukraine Political Officer Dr. Paul Carter
  • Maj. Gen. Leonid Holopatyuk (UA MOD)
  • General Designer Dmitry Kiva (Antonov Aerospace)
  • Dr. Yuri Alekseyev (UA National Space Agency)
  • Dr. Celeste Wallander (Georgetown University) (DOD DAS EEA 2008-2012)
  • Deputy [& UA Astronaut] Leonid Kadenyuk (Rada National Security & Defense Committee)
  • Principal Director for Eurasia Scott Schless (US Department of Defense)
  • Maj. Gen. Serhiy Bezlushchenko (UA MOD)
  • Ukraine Desk Officer CDR David Fisher (Joint Staff/J-5, U.S. Department of Defense)
  • Amb. Steve Pifer (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
  • Dr. Steven Larabbee (RAND)
  • Amb. John Herbst (National Defense University)
  • Atlantic Council Vice President Damon Wilson
  • Former Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaichenko
  • Dr. Lumomyr Luciuk (CA Royal Military Academy)
  • Former Foreign Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Ohryzko
  • Atlantic Council Senior Fellow & Fmr. DOD DAS for Europe Ian Brzezinski
  • Senior Fellow James Sherr (Royal Institute of International Affairs/ Chatham House)
  • Policy Analyst and Program Executive Amanda Paul (EPC-EU)
  • Amb. Andrew Robinson (Carelton University)
  • American Foreign Policy Council President Herman Pirchner
  • First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Leonid Polyakov
  • Dr. Norman Bailey (Haifa University)
  • Lt. Gen Ben Hodges (USAREUR 2014-2017
  • Gen. Philip Breedlove (SACEUR 2015-2018)
  • Gen. Wesley Clark (SACEUR 1997-2000)
  • Potomac Foundation President Dr. Phillip Karber
  • Dr. Stephen Blank Nat. War College Professor 
  • HF Allison Center Director Luke Coffey
  • Jamestown Foundation President Glen Howard
  • OSCE Amb. Michael Carpenter (DOD DAS for Europe in 2014-2016)
  • US Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery
  • CA Deputy MInister of Defence Jill Sinclair
  • UA Adm. Ihor Kabanenko
  • Head of the UAF Gen. Staff Gen. Viktor Muzhenko
  • Deputy Min. of Defense of Ukraine Volodymyr Havrylov
  • Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA)
  • Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
  • Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY)
  • Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
  • Dr. TX Hammes (National Defense University)
  • Reuben Johnson (Senior Correspondent/Breaking Defense)

Major Western security and security related concerns or think thanks that have participated in the stated gatherings include: Pivdenmash, Antonov, MotorSich, Kyiv Polytechnical Institute, Ukroboronservice, Ukrainian Defense Consulting LtD, Raytheon, NATO Documentation Centre/UA, Digital Alliance, RAND Corporation, Harvard University’s “Managing the Atom” Program, Civil-Military Innovation Institute

 

US-Ukrainian Energy Dialogue Series

The US-Ukrainian Energy Dialogue Series began as a follow-up to a notion first broached by US Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, who, during his visit to Kyiv in the summer of 2005, stressed the need for a serious set of discussions, formal and informal, on energy issues between the appropriate governmental, non-governmental and corporate representatives of the United States and Ukraine.

Senator Richard Lugar, in his keynote address to Ukraine’s Quest RT VI [September 2005] restated Secretary Bodman’s initiative and challenged the RT organizers to organize “a US-UA energy forum” by promising to help with an appropriate venue on Capitol Hill. The RT organizers got to work immediately and within two months, the US-Ukrainian Energy Dialogue Series was born.

Five such forums have now been held: the inaugural event in Washington DC, in Nov 2006, a very popular follow-up in Houston, in May 2006, a return event in DC in 2008, featuring an important keynote by the patron of the Series, Sen. Lugar, and a recent gathering held in Kyiv (December 2012) to highlight Ukraine’s need to seek ‘energy independence’. In the wake of Euro-Maidan (August 2014), CUSUR, in conjunction with AFPC, the Kyiv Energy Club ‘Q’ and the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine ran a US-UA Energy-Security Fusion Event.

Major Western energy and energy related concerns that have participated in the stated gatherings include: Cardinal Resources, AES, Northland Power, Holtec, Hunt Oil, Aspect Energy, Vanco, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, Westinghouse, Hitachi America, Safeguards Inc., Allied Technologies Group, Halliburton, PFC Energy, Devon, Marathon Oil, Trident Oil.

CUSUR anticipates that late summer 2023 will see US-UA Energy Dialogue VIII in Kyiv.

Ukraine’s Historical Encounters Series

The term Ukraine’s Historical Encounters was coined in 1998, when Columbia University’s Harriman Institute used it to title a “breakthrough” two-day symposium that was tasked with exploring the long and troubled relations between Ukraine and its always imposing northern neighbor, Russia.

A long and distinguished line of academics did precisely what was asked of them; they delved into the past, present and future to examine “the ties that bind, often too tightly”.

The end result of the endeavor was a well-received monograph, containing the forum’s highlight presentations, bearing the same appellation.

The term resurfaced as a title in 2003, when NYU’s Center for Global Affairs ran a one-day conference, in conjunction with CUSUR’s predecessor—UCIS, which reassembled a number of the speaking participants of Ukraine’s

Quest for Mature Nation Statehood Roundtable II: Taking Measure of a U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership [Nov 2001] and asked the gathering to update their assessment of relations between Ukraine and the world’s “remaining superpower”.

The forum’s frank discussions included a very serious give and take on the prevailing issue of common concern at the time: the War on Terror.

In 2004, the two Universities [CU’s East Central European Center added its weight to the project at this juncture], through the good offices of UCIS, decided to combine their efforts under the stated moniker and launch a set of forums that would explore Ukraine’s “past, present and future” ties with its various neighbors [both countries and regional associations].

The Ukraine’s Historical Encounters Series has held six such major events:

In addition, CUSUR has sponsored several special UA HES symposia dedicated to Ukraine’s encounters with its own history: