Mr. Yushchenko comes to Washington

By Aussiegirl

Hot off the wires --

Ukrainian President Coming to White House:

I hope Katya Yushchenko gets a chance to meet with all her old friends back here in Washington and also has the opportunity of introducing her new husband, the president, to all those fine people who knew her as Kathy Chumachenko. I'm also hoping that he will have some time in his schedule to meet with the local Ukrainian community or maybe even attend services at St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral. What a thrill that would be for all our local Ukrainian parishes, Catholic as well as Orthodox, who have done so much financially and in other ways to support democracy in Ukraine. If that happens you'll hear about it here on UT from your intrepid reporter on the spot, Aussiegirl.


WASHINGTON - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko will meet with President Bush at the White House early next month, Ukraine's foreign minister said today.

Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk told reporters he discussed the trip -- Yushchenko's first visit to the United States as president -- in a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney.

"In the course of this visit, he's going to inform the president and the American people about a new beginning in Ukraine...in terms of democracy, and also he's going to discuss the issues of reactivation of a strategic partnership with the United States," Tarasyuk said.
Among issues he discussed with Cheney, Tarasyuk said, was Ukraine's phased withdrawal of its 1,650 troops from Iraq.