NATO - Ukraine Declaration

 
The following press release was issued a few days ago by NATO:
 
"NATO and Ukraine took their relationship to a higher level by the signing of a “Declaration to Complement the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between NATO and Ukraine” at NATO Headquarters on 21 August. The document was signed by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and by Ukrainian Ambassador to NATO Ihor Sagach on behalf of the Ukrainian President.

The Declaration gives the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) a central role to play in the process launched at the Bucharest Summit 2008, when Allied leaders agreed that in future, Ukraine “will become a NATO member”.  The NUC will be central to deepening political dialogue and cooperation between NATO and Ukraine, and to underpinning Ukraine’s reform efforts.
This Declaration follows up on an agreement reached by foreign ministers in December 2008 to amend the NATO-Ukraine Charter in order to reflect the decisions taken at NATO’s Summit in April 2008 in Bucharest."
 
In January 2010, the Ukraine will commence its 5th Presidential elections since gaining independence. The last, in 2004, will always be remembered for the Orange Revolution that heralded the arrival of western style democracy in the country, much to the fury of the Kremlin.
 
The timing of this announcement of an increase in co-operation between Ukraine and NATO is likely to create an area of political debate that will highlight the pro-Kremlin position of Viktor Yanukovych. He will be uncomfortable with this development, of course, but will find it difficult to defend his, or rather the Kremlin's, position. Whilst a majority of Ukrainians are opposed to NATO membership, they do favour increased co-operation with western Europe, and the declaration will surely be presented in that light.
 
Yulia Tymoshenko will need to choose her words carefully: having initially supported Ukrainian membership of the alliance, she then changed her position to reflect public opinion. With the incumbent President Yushchenko polling badly, she looks to be a strong contender for the office, but a second about-face on what may be one of the hottest topics in the campaign will be seized upon by her opponents as a weakness.
 
Increased co-operation without full membership seems the most attractive option, both politically and economically: Ukraine has been hit very hard by the economic crisis, and the cost of upgrading its military to western standards would be prohibitive.
 
The press release can be found here:
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-00013ABC-894188D9/natolive/news_57028.htm?mode=pressrelease
 
A NATO paper on Ukrainian public opinion regarding membership of the alliance can be found here:
http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/96-98/galin.pdf