Formal Ukraine-NATO Relations
A. Official Documents and Declarations
     I. Background
B. Speeches
C. Research Studies
D. Parliamentary Reports

A. Official Documents and Declarations

I. Background

The foreign policy of the Ukraine is characterized by ambiguity. On the one hand, the ruling elite displays a clear preference towards the West, and wishes to integrate the country into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. On the other hand, the Ukraine is prevented  from fully associating with the West due to its strong dependence on Russian energy and trade. The relationship with Russia is further excentuated by the presence of a significant Russian minority within the country. This dilemma forces the Ukraine to practice a foreign policy that refrains from adopting an exclusively Western or Russian-friendly stance. Instead, it conducts a multi-track foreign policy whose most significant feature is its lack of  membership within any collective defence arrangement. 

The Ukraine is a member of OSCE and participates in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) as well as Partnership for Peace (PfP). In 1997 Ukraine founded the GUAM Group along with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova. Uzbekistan joined in 1999 after having abandonned the Tashkent treaty. This resulted in the addition of a further 'U' to the name of the organization, now known as GUUAM. This organisation expresses a wish for close cooperation with NATO. Large parts of the political elite, including the current government, see the country's future to be in close association with the West. This orientation can be recognised in the Foreign Policy Priorities of Ukraine, in which integration into Western structures is presented as a strategic goal. Besides cooperation within the frameworks of PfP and EAPC, NATO signed a Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between the NATO and Ukraine in 1997, about two weeks after the signing of a Founding Act between NATO and Russia. Its statements are confirmed in The Alliance's Strategic Concept, issued April 24th, 1999. Additionally, the U.S. position is laid out in the U.S. Strategy for the 21st Century, issued by the U.S. Department of Defense in December 2000.
At the Foreign Minister meeting of NATO in May 2002, the Final Communiqué calls on both sides, NATO and the Ukraine to further enhance cooperation. It is scheduled to be a subject for the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of Heads of State and Government at the Prague Summit in November 2002.
In the end of May 2002, the Ukrainian government has come forward with statements abandoning Ukraine's long-pampered neutrality. Articles indicate that the westward orientation and the long-term goal to join NATO is now explicitly voiced. Next steps are expected at the next NUC session and the Prague Summit. Click here for articles on this development: Ukraine Declares Plans to Join NATO, by O. Varfolomeyev or Ukraine Turns to NATO by Transitions online.

However, this objective runs counter to popular sentiment within the country; where a majority of Ukrainians favour stronger ties with the Russian Federation because of cultural-historical links. Additionally, a substantial Russian minority lives in the Ukraine, to whom the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation is of great importance. Russia is also the country's largest single trading partner and energy supplier, accounting for the large debt the Ukraine owes to this country. Last but not least, the circumstance of the Ukraine being a former republic of the USSR, as well as the existence of a  common border with Russia, enhances the Ukraine's importance for Russian security. Parts of the Russian political elite have not fully accepted Ukrainian sovereignty and wish to integrate the Ukraine and Belarus into a 'Slavic Federation' along with Russia. 
 

While the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was designed to incorporate all former USSR republics into a common framework, the Ukraine failed to ratify the CIS treaty and thus lacks full membership status. It also abstained from  signing the Tashkent treaty in 1992, a collective defence commitment between some CIS members. The Ukraine's failure to fully join CIS as well as its rejection of the Tashkent treaty reflect a desire for the country to preserve its independence.
 


With the signing of the Lisbon Treaty in May 1992, the Ukraine, together with Belarus and Kazakhstan, joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty. At the same time, they also committed themselves to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its territory until 2007. Additionally, the three states and Russia were recognized as the legal successors of the USSR for START purposes.
 


Further, the Ukraine is not a candidate state for accession to the European Union but signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the EU in March 1998. The PCA also provides for a security dialogue between both parties. The EU's approach to the Ukraine is laid out in the EU Common Strategy on Ukraine signed on December 11th, 1999. The last EU-Ukraine Summit in Yalta on September 11th, 2001 produced the most recent high-level document detailing the state of the relations. Notable is the future participation of the Ukraine in the European Conference.
 


Statements by the NATO-Ukraine-Commission (NUC)
 
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
 2002
        

Interparliamentary Cooperation

Some cooperation at Parliamentary level has taken place. See the press release and the secretariat's report on the set up of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly - Ukrainian Parliament Joint Monitoring Group on the NATO-Ukraine Charter, 2-3 November 2000. 


B. Speeches
  • NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson: Opening Statement, Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at Foreign Ministers Level, Brussels, 6 December 2001
  • NATO-Secretary General J. Solana: Opening Statement, first session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at Ministerial Level, Brussels, 16 December 1997
  • President of Ukraine L. Kuchma: Opening Statement, Signing Ceremony of the NATO-Ukraine Charter, Madrid, 9 July 1997
  • Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, H. Udovenko: European Security: A Ukrainian View, XIIIth NATO Workshop, Warsaw, 19-23 June 1996

C. Research Studies
D. Parliamentary Reports