PRESS BRIEFING BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF UKRAINE

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF UKRAINE

Hennadi Udovenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, told a Headquarters press briefing this morning that Ukraine's foreign policy had recently witnessed a number of extremely important achievements which greatly contributed to peace and stability on the European continent.

One of those achievements, the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, was signed by those countries' two presidents in Kiev at the end of May, Mr. Udovenko said. That had been preceded by the signing of a series of Black Sea Fleet Agreements between the two countries. All were important because through them the Russian Federation confirmed its recognition of Ukraine as an independent country, and confirmed the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the non- violability of its borders. Almost simultaneously, Ukraine also signed the Treaty on Neighbourly Relations and Cooperation with Romania and the Border- Line Agreement with Belarus, which was the first agreement on border issues signed with a former Soviet Republic.

In addition, Mr. Udovenko said, his Government had initialled the Charter on Distinctive Relations between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine in Sintra, Portugal at the end of May. The Charter would eventually be signed by the President of Ukraine and all 16 NATO members during the Summit in Madrid on 9 July. His Government also welcomed the signing of the agreement between NATO and the Russian Federation. Those two documents, together with NATO enlargement, greatly contributed to overall European security for the next century.

As a result of Ukraine's very active foreign policy, the Eastern European Group had decided to nominate a representative of Ukraine for the Presidency of the forthcoming session of the General Assembly, Mr. Udovenko said. On 19 June, the Eastern European Group formalized its decision, and notified the Secretary-General that it unanimously supported Ukraine's candidacy. Mr. Udovenko expressed his Government's gratitude to the Eastern European Group, adding that it would be an important assignment for the Ukrainian representative, especially in the context of the current reform process of the United Nations.

Asked which Ukraine representative would be sitting in the President's chair in the General Assembly, Mr. Udovenko said he would.

What were the current main objectives and goals of Ukraine's foreign policy? a correspondent asked. Mr. Udovenko said the next step was the "economization" of Ukraine's foreign policy. Despite recent achievements at the macro-economic level, Ukraine was still in a deep economic crisis. One problem was the restructuring of the energy industry. Ukraine had inherited a collapsed Soviet Union economy, with all its related problems, as well as

problems related to Chernobyl. Ten to 12 per cent of Ukraine's national budget was dedicated to the victims of Chernobyl and as the years passed his Government would face even more problems. The Foreign Ministry would recommend to the Government, ways to create favourable conditions to attract foreign investments. It would also work to continue to strengthen the independence of Ukraine. On 28 June 1997, the country would celebrate the first anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution, which was widely used in Ukraine's diplomatic activities. Asked what was the future of Chernobyl, Mr. Udovenko said the future was bleak. Ukraine would fulfil its political commitments and close the power station by 2000. Unfortunately, the "Group of 7" had not fulfilled its obligations in connection with the Chernobyl nuclear power station and his Government was in constant negotiations with representatives of that group to secure financing for projects involved in closing the station. The main obstacle was that there were almost 200 tons of nuclear fuel beneath the reactors which needed to be removed and stored safely. Another problem was financing the construction of two and one-half nuclear reactors that would compensate Ukraine for the losses of nuclear power and energy which could have been produced by Chernobyl. Ukraine had been forced to deal with the problems of Chernobyl almost alone, without any substantive financial assistance. Ukraine not only needed financial assistance or crediting, it also needed technical assistance in dealing with this issue. Had Ukraine commissioned a follow-up health survey on the long-term health effects of Chernobyl? a correspondent asked. Mr. Udovenko said Ukraine conducted a survey which had led to the accumulation of important information. The President of the Ukraine wanted to establish an international research centre in Chernobyl and had invited representatives from every country which had expertise dealing with nuclear disasters. Responding to a question on the comments of Russian Federation Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov at the Denver Summit, in which he said that to his knowledge Ukraine would not be joining NATO, Mr. Udovenko said his ministry had already responded to Mr. Primakov's comments. Ukraine was satisfied with the Charter on Distinctive Relations with NATO as it met its political aspirations and it provided Ukraine with important security guarantees. Ukraine was not applying for NATO membership, but its principal foreign policy strategies included integration with European structures and deepening cooperation with transatlantic structures. Asked how he would combine his responsibilities as Minister for Foreign Affairs and President of the General Assembly, Mr. Udovenko said two-thirds of the former Presidents had been Foreign Ministers. If they could do it, so could he. How many countries should be members of an expanded Security Council? a correspondent asked. Mr. Udovenko said he did not want to spoil his election as President of the General Assembly by commenting on that issue. As a former Director of the Meetings and Interpretation Division at Headquarters, he had always thought about the physical limitations of the Security Council Chamber.

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