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In Brief... World News Review: Ukraine Struggles Now for Neutrality

article by Cecil Maranville, Darris McNeely, John Ross Schroeder, Peter Eddington

Neutrality at the root of Ukraine's foreign policy.

The pendulum of Ukrainian foreign policy swung closest to the West on June 12, when Kiev briefly closed Ukrainian airspace to Russian aircraft trying to reinforce Russian troops at Slatina airbase in Kosovo. For Moscow that was too far and Russia has launched a major campaign to reverse Ukraine's trajectory. Following very pointed discussions with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on July 4, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has reaffirmed Ukraine's strategic partnership with Russia, while declaring neutrality to be at the root of Ukraine's foreign policy. For Kiev, NATO was a fleeting dream and neutrality is a desperate hope, but strategic partnership may be the final reality (www.Stratfor.com, Global Intelligence Update, July 15, 1999).