As it was at the end of 2004, the world's attention is again focused on events in Ukraine. Yet the widespread admiration our nation was greeted with during that time is now being substituted by overwhelming concern.

President Viktor Yushchenko has attempted to dissolve the parliament under the pretext of preserving demo-cracy in Ukraine. Yet, as international reaction has proved, no one has described the crisis in terms of an ultimate struggle for democracy. Most see it as domestic infighting, fraught with unpredictable consequences not only for Ukraine but also for the larger European and global communities.