Quotable notes

"[Ukraine's] full-fledged membership in the European Union and NATO, as before, remains a major component of our strategy. However, in operational terms, we have made corrections for the near future to reflect today's situation, taking into account not only our Ukrainian realities but also the current situation in the Euro-Atlantic community. This, as a matter of fact, is all. None of the already planned measures for developing our relations with NATO and the EU have been canceled. This is out of the question."

- President Leonid Kuchma, explaining in the August 6 issue of Fakty i Kommentari why he removed the provisions about preparing the country for full-fledged membership in the EU and NATO from Ukraine's military doctrine in July, as cited by RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 22, 2004, No. 34, Vol. LXXII

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