Ukraine responds to visit postponement (04/14/96)

Ukraine responds to visit postponement

Following is the text of a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued in Kyiv on April 1. (English translation provided by the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington.)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is authorized to state that the decision of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin to postpone his official visit to Ukraine has been accepted in Ukraine with understanding, in spite of the fact that the agreed upon date for his visit has been postponed more than once.

For its part, the Ukrainian side had done everything possible to resolve the existing problems in Ukrainian-Russian relations, the resolution of which the Russian side has set as a precondition to Yeltsin's visit. On Ukraine's initiative, during the last few weeks, delegations and groups of experts from both governments have held a series of meetings and negotiations. Several telephone conversations between the presidents of Ukraine and the Russian Federation also took place. The prime minister of Ukraine undertook two working trips to Moscow. He also extended an invitation to the prime minister of Russia to come to Kyiv to bring a final resolution to the unsettled issues.

The Ukrainian side affirms the necessity for a summit meeting as soon as possible and its readiness to receive its esteemed Russian guest. The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership initialed in February 1995, and a number of bilateral treaties agreements and in economic, scientific, technical and cultural fields are fully ready to be signed by both sides.

At the same time, judging by the statement of the press secretary of the Russian Federation, the main problem preventing President Yeltsin from coming to Kyiv is that certain issues pertaining to the basing of the Russian portion of the Black Sea Fleet have yet to be resolved. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that Ukraine has been conducting, and is ready to continue to conduct, negotiations on the terms and the duration of the basing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to stress that the issue of basing the naval forces of Ukraine on its own territory is strictly within the realm of internal affairs of Ukraine as a sovereign state. Ukraine firmly adheres to the agreements regarding the Black Sea Fleet reached at Sochi, while continuing to follow the course of protecting its national interests.

We take the position that very important agreements between the two countries, which are ready to be signed, should not be linked with any as yet unsettled issues.

Ukraine is ready to welcome the president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, at any time convenient for both sides.

Hennadiy Udovenko
Minister

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