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To:
hbiden@rosemontseneca.com,
rwalker@rosemontseneca.com
Cc:
kdodge@rosemontseneca.com
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Dear Hunter and Rob
It was indeed a pleasure to have met you both yesterday and thanks for your time. I enjoyed the conversation. Hunter, thanks for the overview of Rosemont Seneca as well as the discussion on Ukraine. Clearly a lot to do on the latter!
With regard to Rosemont Seneca, I would welcome the opportunity for further discussion on ways in which my international advisory firm of Orpheus could be additive to your efforts -- particularly given my previous USG experience at State where I was the Secretary's Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs and knowledge of the interagency. Would it be worth exploring working together on a specific opportunity? Rob, would you be available to speak more on this and possibly get together?
As to Ukraine, the same offer is extended. Interestingly, there are several programs being talked about vis a vis the recently passed SFRC Ukraine Freedom Act whereby companies (not just US) can engage more fulsomely in what the Government of Ukraine could be doing to promote more exploration and production in the energy sector -- maybe something there for Burisma but done "in country". There are a number of other initiatives being promoted by PM Yatsenyuk and the Government worthy of pursuing.
As to the royalty/tax issue we discussed, I believe I mentioned that one of Cub Energy's Senior Advisors is working with one of the Burisma team in Kyiv on that particular issue and possibly the National Bank of Ukraine suspension of dividend issue in the broader context of the gas producers lobby.
The below is what I referenced during the meeting as DC PR working with Poroshenko. I know the folks at BGR well and did see Ed Rogers in Kyiv in June when I was there. My take is they are pitching an oligarch close to Poroshenko, Konstantin Grigorshin of The Energy Group. Additionally, I understand from Amb. Rick Burt at Mack McLarty's group that BGR and McLarty and Associates might join forces on this.
Hunter, you kindly offered to make an introduction to Nikolai and would like to take you up on that sometime.
In the meantime, let me know if I can be of any assistance.
All the best,
Frank
PS -- Hunter, am glad to know that Loughboro Road residents receive no special treatment during the big snowstorms. Great story about your return that one winter!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/new-ukrainian-government-said-to-be-working-with-western-pr#4ebv67r [external link removed]
New Ukrainian Government Said To Be Working With Western P.R. Firm
Combating the Russian lobbying machine in DC.posted on Sept. 24, 2014, at 1:37 a.m.WASHINGTON — Public relations and lobbying firm BGR is working with the new Ukrainian government, according to multiple sources.According to four sources with knowledge of the situation, including an adviser to the Ukrainian government, BGR, which has three affiliates in the United States and a company called BGR Gabara in London and in the past represented the former Georgian government of Bidzina Ivanishvili, is working with the new Ukrainian government led by President Petro Poroshenko. It is unclear whether the two parties have signed a formal contract yet, as there are none filed with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, nor with the Senate or House under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.A spokesperson for BGR did not return multiple requests for comment. BGR Public Relations’ president Jeffrey Birnbaum also did not return a request for comment. A spokesperson for Poroshenko did not return requests for comment.BGR would be the first Western firm to work with Poroshenko on his outreach in the West post-Maidan revolution and in the midst of the slow-motion Russian invasion. The Russians, on the other hand, have a robust lobbying presence in the West and have employed major firms like Ketchum and GPlus for some time. The Ukrainians need the help; they have been asking the West to help them fight the Russians for months, and have also been pushing for heavier sanctions. Poroshenko recently came to Washington and addressed Congress [external link removed], where he gave a speech heavy on American-friendly themes like Israel, Abraham Lincoln, and JFK. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has resisted providing military support to the Ukrainians in favor of a series of sanctions that have not appeared to slow Russian advances.The Ukrainians are being advised in a different way by the Open Society Foundations, billionaire George Soros’ worldwide grant-making organization. The organization runs a branch called the International Renaissance Foundation in Kiev, which was founded after the fall of the Soviet Union, and is planning to build three branch offices elsewhere in Ukraine, according to Leonard Benardo, the Open Society Foundations’ regional director for Eurasia.Benardo said that while the Open Society Foundations’ focus is on supporting reforms within Ukraine, they do “encourage the government in Kiev to work productively with the U.S. and others.”“Where those reform efforts need support with other bilateral donors, the U.S. government being one of them, we definitely try to encourage leveraging our support with others,” he said. “We try to advance collaborative funds of programs.”Max Seddon contributed to this report
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