U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Ukraine's landmark naval-base-for-gas deal with Russia was part of a delicate foreign policy "balancing act" for President Viktor Yanukovych.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Ukraine's
landmark naval-base-for-gas deal with Russia was part of a delicate foreign
policy "balancing act" for President Viktor Yanukovych.
"
Ukraine
is
trying to have a balanced approach to its foreign policy,"
Clinton
told
reporters in
Estonia
ahead
of talks with her North Atlantic Treaty Organization counterparts.
Yanukovych has told U.S. President Barack Obama "that he very much wants
to improve and deepen relations with the
United
States
, but at the same time he has
made it clear he is going to continue to work with
Russia
,"
she said.
"I think given
Ukraine
's
history and
Ukraine
's
geographic position, that balancing act is a hard one, but it makes sense to
us. That's what he's trying to do and, to keep a foot, if you will, in both
sides of his country."
Russia
and
Ukraine
Wednesday announced a landmark deal to extend the lease of a strategic Russian
naval base in
Crimea
by 25 years in exchange for
Kiev
receiving a huge discount on natural gas imports.
The deal, announced after talks between Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart
Dmitry Medvedev, is the most substantive result yet of warming in ties between
Ukraine and Russia after Yanukovych's election in February.
The
U.S.
has
long supported the candidature of
Ukraine
to
join NATO, which was pushed by
Ukraine
's
former pro-Western president Viktor Yushchenko.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Παρ, 11 Οκτωβρίου 2024 - 20:08
Παρ, 11 Οκτωβρίου 2024 - 20:03
Πεμ, 10 Οκτωβρίου 2024 - 19:39
Πεμ, 10 Οκτωβρίου 2024 - 19:36
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58