"For Ukraine to move forward with its democracy, the time has come for opposing forces on important issues to find a way to compromise over seemingly intractable issues," says influential conservative commentator and long-term senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by the US-Ukraine Observer:

Long-time senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan, Peter Hannaford has called on opposing political forces in Ukraine to find common ground on important issues.  Writing for the leading conservative publication, The American Spectator, Hannaford writes:  "For Ukraine to move forward with its democracy, the time has come for opposing forces on important issues to find a way to compromise over seemingly intractable issues. Take the case of the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She is in prison, convicted in 2011 for "abuse of power" over a natural gas transaction she had negotiated with Russia. In addition, she has also been charged with implication in the murder of a Ukrainian parliamentarian in 1996."

Hannaford recalls the mistaken belief by many that following the 2004 orange revolution, Ukraine's nascent democracy would speak with one voice for all Ukrainians.  "From this distance it seemed that Ukrainians were speaking with one voice, but they weren't. As in any democracy there are many voices to be heard and since then, many have been heard, often in disagreement with one another. Fewer than two dozen years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of independent governments among its former components," writes Hannaford.  

In his commentary, Hannaford cites the United States, as a mature democracy, which should formulate its foreign policy to reflect all political voices in Ukraine.  Hannaford writes: "No one voice, no matter how strong, can reflect all points of view. The development of Ukrainian democracy is an ongoing process. The country has been and still is in the process of healing painful issues that divided peoples and places over a very long time. Ukraine and its leaders need the support of other democratic nations, especially ours, as it works its way through the process."

Long-time senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan, Peter Hannaford is one of America's top conservative commentators.  His latest book is Reagan's Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character.

The American Spectator: "Moving Ukraine's Democracy Forward: http://spectator.org/archives/2013/03/13/moving-ukraines-democracy-forw

Contact: US-Ukraine Observer, Alexander Pogorelov, 615-290-5662, [email protected]

SOURCE The US-Ukraine Observer