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Further Reading

Ukraine - Foreign Relations

The government has stated that it intends to pursue European integration, while also improving relations with Russia and strengthening its strategic partnership with the United States. Ukraine's relations with the EU have been guided by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) since 1998. At the December 2009 EU-Ukraine Summit then-President Yushchenko reiterated his desire to conclude an association agreement with the EU, but the negotiations that began in 2008 are still ongoing. In March 2009, the European Council endorsed the Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative to help the EU's Eastern neighbors (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia) undertake political and economic reforms and to bring them closer to the EU. The EaP was launched in May 2009.

On January 31, 1992, Ukraine joined the then-Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (now the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe--OSCE), and on March 10, 1992, it became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Ukraine signed a Charter Agreement with NATO in 1997, sent troops to Kosovo in close cooperation with NATO countries, and signed an agreement for NATO use of Ukrainian strategic airlift assets. It is one of the most active members of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), participating in all but one PfP operation. In April 2005, NATO offered an "Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues" to Ukraine, and in January 2008 Ukraine requested a NATO Membership Action Plan. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, NATO allies decided to review Ukraine's MAP request at a future date and affirmed that it would eventually become a member of the alliance. Following President Yanukovych's election, Deputy Foreign Minister Yeliseyev stated that Ukraine intends to defer efforts to accelerate NATO membership. President Yanukovych has emphasized, however, that he intends to pursue practical cooperation with the alliance.

Since the election of President Yanukovych, Ukraine has pursued improved relations with Russia. Ukraine's relations with Russia have recently focused on several bilateral issues including energy security, natural gas prices, and issues related to the stationing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

In January 2009 Gazprom, the Russian natural gas producer, cut supplies to Ukraine. The cutoff developed into a crisis as both the gas supplies intended for consumption in Ukraine and those in transit to the rest of Europe were cut off for nearly a month. Ukraine was able to meet most of its domestic demand with reserves, but consumers in other European countries were left without gas for nearly three weeks. A hastily-negotiated agreement was signed with Russia on January 19, 2009, which called for market pricing for gas and transit and the elimination of intermediaries. After Yanukovych's public statements calling for a "just price" for Russian gas imports, the Azarov government signed a sweeping 10-year agreement with Russia on April 21, 2010 to exchange a 25-year extension of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's basing lease in Sevastopol for a discounted price on Russian gas imports (which, Ukraine claims, could result in net annual budget savings of $3 billion or more).

Ukraine maintains peaceful and constructive relations with all its neighbors, though there are some unresolved maritime issues along the Danube and in the Black Sea with Romania; it has especially close ties with Poland and Russia. Ukraine co-founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on December 8, 1991, but in January 1993 it refused to endorse a draft charter strengthening political, economic, and defense ties among CIS members.

Ukraine was a founding member of GUAM (Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova) and has taken the lead with Georgia to promote cooperation among emerging democracies in the Community for Democratic Choice, which held its first summit meeting December 1-2, 2005 in Kyiv. In February 2009, the office of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM was opened in Kyiv. In 1999-2001, Ukraine served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Soviet Ukraine joined the United Nations in 1945 as one of the original members following a Western compromise with the Soviet Union, which had asked for seats for all 15 of its union republics. Ukraine has consistently supported peaceful, negotiated settlements to disputes. It has participated in the five-sided (now "5+2") talks on the conflict in Moldova. Ukraine has also advocated a return to democracy in neighboring Belarus. Ukraine has made a substantial contribution to UN peacekeeping operations since 1992.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and created an opportunity to build bilateral relations with the New Independent States (NIS) as they began a political and economic transformation. On December 25, 1991, the United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine. It upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine is John Tefft, the seventh U.S. ambassador since Ukrainian independence.

The United States attaches great importance to the success of Ukraine's transition to a democratic state with a flourishing market economy. Following a period of economic decline characterized by high inflation and a continued reliance on state controls, the Ukrainian Government began taking steps in the fall of 1999 to reinvigorate economic reform. Ukraine's democratic "Orange Revolution" led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue between Ukraine and the United States. The United States granted Ukraine market economy status in February 2006. In March 2006, the United States terminated the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 to Ukraine, providing Ukraine permanent normal trade relations status. The United States and Ukraine signed a new Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA) on April 1, 2008. The TICA establishes a forum for discussion of bilateral trade and investment relations and will help deepen those relations.

U.S. policy remains centered on realizing and strengthening a democratic, prosperous, and secure Ukraine more closely integrated into Europe and Euro-Atlantic structures. In December 2008, the United States signed the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership. The Charter highlights the importance of the bilateral relationship and outlines enhanced cooperation in the areas of defense, security, economics and trade, energy security, democracy, and cultural exchanges. The Charter also emphasizes the continued commitment of the United States to support enhanced engagement between NATO and Ukraine. To fulfill one of the key tenets of the charter, Vice President Joseph Biden and President Yushchenko established the Strategic Partnership Commission during Vice President Biden's July 2009 visit to Kyiv. The commission's first meeting took place December 9, 2009 in Washington.