Turning the pages back... May 30, 1997 (05/28/00)

Turning the pages back...

May 30, 1997

Russia's President Boris Yeltsin came to Ukraine three years ago on May 30 on his first official state visit and signed a comprehensive treaty on friendship and cooperation with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Leonid Kuchma. In that document Russia formally recognized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country that for centuries was a centerpiece of its empire.

The treaty marked a new era in relations between the two countries.

At a ceremony at the monument to the "Liberator Soldier," President Yeltsin unequivocally declared Russia's recognition of the independence of Ukraine. "Ukraine is an independent country, and we will hold this premise sacred ... [Russia] does not lay claim on any part of Ukraine or on any of its cities."

The two presidents signed three documents at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv on May 31: the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership, a statement on the Black Sea Fleet and an agreement of cooperation in the development of a common space industry.

The bilateral treaty, which has a lifespan of 10 years but is automatically extended unless either side calls for its cancellation, was a far-reaching document that addressed increased military, political, cultural and economic relations between the two countries. In the document the two parties agreed on the inviolability of their territories, and pledged to build mutual relations on the basis of "non-use of force or threat of force, including economic or any other means," and "not to conclude with third parties any agreements aimed against the opposite side."

The treaty underscored compliance with the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Accords and its subsequent agreements, and reaffirmed adherence to the Tripartite Statement signed by the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the United States in January 1994 and the Budapest Memorandum of security guarantees given Ukraine by the nuclear states in December 1994.

The document also contained statements on the development of free trade between the two neighbors, cooperation in scientific-technical development in the fields of outer space exploration, aircraft and nuclear engineering, metallurgy, electronics, and the fuel and energy sector; and establishment of informational-cultural centers in Kyiv and Moscow.

Speaking to reporters as he saw President Yeltsin off at Boryspil Airport, President Kuchma said, "This was an event of huge importance that opens a new stage in relations between our two countries. ... there are fewer politicians in Russia now who think that Ukraine can be strangled by force and kept as a vassal."

Source: "Ukraine, Russia sign long-awaited bilateral treaty" by Roman Woronowycz, Kyiv Press Bureau, The Ukrainian Weekly, June 8, 1997, Vol. LXV, No. 23.

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