Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko signed a security charter last month that establishes enhanced cooperation between the United States and Ukraine on a broad range of issues. The Charter will bring a greater American military and diplomatic presence to the Crimea and Black Sea, and indicates gradual implementation of steps leading up to eventual NATO membership for Ukraine.
Both Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Ohryzko emphasized the Charter’s objective of developing Ukraine’s status as a strategic partner of the United States and its European allies. By creating a more effective strategic partnership, the Charter will bring Ukraine closer to meeting the specifications for NATO candidacy articulated in last year’s Bucharest Summit Declaration of the NATO North Atlantic Council.
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