Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has not yet decided what kind of collective security system best fits the needs of Ukraine.
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Yushchenko Seeks Security
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, summing up the consequences of the Russian-Georgian conflict for Ukraine on his website on Friday, said that it was necessary to “drift toward a system of collective security.” He did not offer any specifics about such a system. The Party of the Regions is urging stringer military and political ties with Russia, while the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc wants to concentrate on creating a new collective defense system that includes the countries of the European Union.
“The events in Georgia are a glaring example of how easily military actions and violations of territorial integrity and sovereignty can be carried out on practically any territory, if no system and mechanisms of collective [security] guarantee stand behind it,” Yushchenko wrote. He emphasized the shortcomings of national models of security, saying that it is impossible for a state to exist independently in this age of globalization. He did not mention NATO.
The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc press service issued a statement following the president’s posting reading that “The faction emphasizes the need to create a system of active collective security in Europe with the participation of Ukraine with the goal of preventing new military conflicts from arising on problematic territories.”
Even the Party of the Regions has lessened its opposition to collective security after recent events. “It is majuscule wisdom that besides the United States and Russia, only China can make claims to being an independent player in the international arena in the future. All other countries should build their security on the basis of collective action,” deputy leader of the faction Alexander Lavrinovich conceded to Kommersant. He called Ukraine’s accession to NATO “unrealistic.” “Ukraine has the largest border with Russia,” he pointed out, “and its military power is comparable with NATO’s.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 18, 2008
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