14:05
The U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership signed in Washington on December 19 confirms guarantees of Ukraine's security, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor has said.
The first section of the charter says that the support for each other's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders constitutes the foundation of the bilateral relations, he said in an interview with the Mirror of the Week Newspaper, while commenting on the key clauses of the Washington Charter.
He said that the new document confirms the importance of the security assurances described in the Trilateral Statement by the Presidents of the U.S., Russian Federation and Ukraine of January 14, 1994, and the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of December 5, 1994.
When asked, whether the Charter stipulates for the military assistance of the United States in case of the violation of Ukraine's borders by another state, Taylor said "No." The Charter doesn't oblige any of the parties to provide the military assistance, he said adding that guarantees of such kind are subject to approval by the Congress.
At the same time, he stressed that the Washington Charter does envisage the reaction of the United States to the possible violation of Ukrainian borders.
"The Charter once again confirms the principles of the Budapest memorandum: if the borders are violated, we will meet and discuss our further steps," the ambassador said.
According to Taylor, the second section of the charter is dedicated to defense and security cooperation. The both countries are interested in a strong, independent, and democratic Ukraine. Deepening of Ukraine's integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions is a mutual priority. This section affirms that Ukraine will become a NATO member, the ambassador said.
The goal of working within the framework of the NATO-Ukraine Commission is to gain agreement on a structured plan to increase interoperability and coordination of capabilities between NATO and Ukraine, including via enhanced training and equipment for Ukrainian armed forces, Taylor said.
He also said that the defense agencies of the two states were negotiating the categories of equipment to be supplied to Ukraine. No final decision has been taken yet, Taylor said adding that Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates were discussing the transition of one to three U.S. naval frigates to Ukraine.
The third section of the Charter sets out the guidelines for trade and energy cooperation, the fourth one is dedicated to strengthening democracy, and the fourth section stipulates for increasing people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
<<< back20.12.2008
16:11
15.01.2009Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to ensure Russia pumps 330 million cubic meters of gas daily into the Ukrainian gas transportation system for transfer to European customers.
14:44
15.01.2009Ukraine thinks that the reasonable gas price in the first quarter of 2009 varies from $192.6 per 1,000 cubic meters with a transit rate of $2.2 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers to $218 with a transit rate of $2.47, Ukrainian presidential commissioner for energy security issues Bohdan Sokolovsky told a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
13:00
15.01.2009Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko discussed the gas dispute and agreed to meet this Saturday during a telephone conversation at the initiative of the Ukrainian side on Thursday, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian prime minister, said.
11:56
15.01.2009The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has demanded that Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko immediately submit a motion in parliament dismissing National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Volodymyr Stelmakh and nominating a new candidate for this post.
11:26
15.01.2009The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, will not work in the regime of plenary meetings until late January 2009.
11:24
15.01.2009A Russia-Ukraine-EU summit is likely to take place in one of the European countries, Czech Ambassador to Russia Miroslav Kostelka told a news conference at Interfax on Thursday.
09:51
15.01.2009The Ukrainian and Russian governments will hold talks on the gas dispute on Saturday, the Ukrainian Cabinet press service reported early on Thursday.
21:33
14.01.2009Head of Ukraine's mission to the European Andriy Veselovsky has refuted the statement of Russian permanent representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov that there are reasons to lodge a lawsuit against Naftogaz Ukrainy.
19:09
14.01.2009Ukraine is not to be blamed for Europe's gas supply problems, Polish President Lech Kaczynski has said.
18:22
14.01.2009Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has said that supplying Russian gas to Europe is currently possible only if Gazprom provides the full volume of gas necessary for the functioning of Ukraine's gas transport system to pump gas to Europe.
Headlines are publishing with timeout in 30 minutes. Subscribe now to read headlines and news without timeout.
18:42 Ukraine not facing any penalties for Europe's losses in gas conflict, says Tymoshenko 18:31 Russia agrees to provide loan to Ukraine, says Tymoshenko 18:14 Tymoshenko calling for construction of new transit gas pipelines through Ukraine 17:15 Biden said to have praised Tymoshenko's role in gas talks 17:04 Ukrainian PM calling for unification of gas supply, transit prices on for all European customers 16:55 Tymoshenko wants to see Ukraine participating in European security policy 16:51 Tymoshenko promises to do her best to reconcile Ukraine and Russia 16:47 Kyiv surprised at U.N. International Court's ignoring presence of Serpent Island, coastline length while ruling on Ukrainian-Romanian delimitation dispute 16:39 Ukraine president returns impeachment bill to parliament 16:20 Ukrainian government refutes presidential envoy's information about secret talks with Russia (Part 2)