About American Institute in Ukraine

The American Institute in Ukraine is a privately funded U.S. nonprofit organization. AIU's purpose is to address questions relating to American policy toward Ukraine, particularly with respect to security issues such as Ukraine's possible accession as a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance.

AIU strives to bring to the people of Ukraine a sense of the diversity of opinion that exists among Americans regarding NATO and other relevant issues. Such diversity is not apparent from the presence of other American organizations active in Ukraine, many of which are funded by the U.S. government and actively promote Ukraine's entry into NATO at the earliest possible date, despite the fact that the majority of Ukraine's population is opposed to NATO accession. AIU is not committed either to agree or to disagree with any official U.S. policy as such but seeks to provide a perspective guided by the American national interest as it relates to Ukraine and to other countries, such as our NATO allies and Russia.

AIU takes no position on NATO per se. But whatever NATO's future may be, AIU questions the wisdom of further expansion without clear and convincing evidence that it would directly enhance U.S. security interests, defined as defense of American territory and the American people; protect the territorial defense of its member states, consistent with the sole mission of the alliance as specified in the North Atlantic Treaty; contribute to the security of countries considered for expansion, beginning with Ukraine; and not injure relations with Russia, which must be an ongoing priority of American foreign and security policy. There is reason to question whether any of these criteria exists now or will exist in the foreseeable future.

In keeping with its purpose AIU maintains a presence and conducts activities in Ukraine under the leadership of:

Executive Director Anthony T. Salvia: Mr. Salvia is a consultant and writer based in New York. His professional experience is concentrated on East European affairs. He served as director of the Moscow bureau of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 1993 to 1996. He was Executive Assistant to the President of RFE/RL in Munich from 1988 to 1993. In the 1980s, he served in the US government as Special Advisor to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

Deputy Executive Director James George Jatras: Mr. Jatras is a principal in a public advocacy firm based in Washington, DC. Prior to entering the private sector he was senior foreign policy adviser to the Republican leadership of the United States Senate. He earlier served as as an American Foreign Service Officer, where among other assignments he was assigned to the (then) Office of Soviet Union Affairs.

Communications Manager Darren Spinck: Darren Spinck is a managing partner at Washington-DC based public affairs firm Global Strategic Communications Group (GSCG). Spinck previously served as a public affairs manager for a Washington, DC-based trade association representing small business owners, where he managed the associations public relations and grassroots development activities. Before joining the trade association, Spinck worked for Prudential Securities as a public affairs associate and as an account executive at BSMG Worldwide (now Weber Shandwick), one of the worlds largest public relations and communications firms. Spinck received a BA in journalism with a concentration in public relations from the University of Maryland and an MA in international commerce and policy from George Mason Universitys Graduate School of Public Policy.

The activities of AIU are strictly informational and educational. AIU does not engage in lobbying, either in the United States or abroad. AIU's activities in Ukraine include: