Ukraine's first policy priority is to integrate into the European Union, said President Viktor A. Yushchenko Tuesday in comments at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
It is not only important to Ukraine's security and economic objectives to join the E.U., but Ukraine also plays a key role for Western partners in providing a regional security outpost, Yushchenko said.
Earlier this month, Yushchenko met with E.U. leaders in Paris to develop a framework for further integration into the E.U., although they did not extend membership.
"Ukraine is a European country," Yushchenko said. "She always was. And she always will be."
Plans mapped out at that meeting included working toward a free trade agreement and further developing the Caspian gas line through the Kavkaz region and Black Sea and into Europe.
"Eighty percent of Russian gas is provided through our pipelines and our transport system," said Yushchenko.
That is why it is important to integrate the country's gas transport system with the E.U., he said.
Yushchenko noted Russia's conflict with Georgia, and said he is convinced it is a global problem.
BP PLC (BP) halted oil and gas pipeline flows through Georgia last month in anticipation of the conflict.
Yushchenko stressed that Ukraine is not Georgia, but discussed potential concerns over Russia's claims in the Crimea peninsula and Tuzla Island.
"We need to learn how to resolve the issues that have not been resolved for years," said Yushchenko. He also said negotiations must begin on Russia's navy fleet on the Black Sea in Crimea.
Russia's Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was quoted by Interfax news agency saying, "We would like the Black Sea Fleet to remain in Sevastopol after the 2017 expiration of the current agreement with Ukraine."
Russians make up more than half of the inhabitants in Crimea. Russia has a naval base in Sevastopol in Crimea. The country's lease to use the port expires in 2017.
"We need to resolve the complicated issues of our relations together," said Yushchenko, adding the key lesson from the Russia-Georgia conflict is there should be no "security disbalances" in the region. He said the E.U. should aim at securing these balances.
Regarding other energy issues, Yushchenko discussed the so-called Energy Security Summit, which aims to create a mutual energy transit space between the Caspian, Black and Baltic seas that would adhere to shared principles.
Yushchenko said Ukraine will always fulfill its gas transmission obligations, but there are outside risks. He said the group will report a revised gas transport plan in October.
"Recent developments in the Caucuses have shown how doubtful any energy transit can be," he said.
"We want to be predictable and stable," Yushchenko added.
Yushchenko said he is not afraid Russia could shut down its gas lines again, but he is concerned. Russia cut off its natural gas supply to Ukraine in early 2006 in what was deemed a political conflict.
The president also commented on the transformation of Ukraine's economy over his presidency.
"Four years ago in Europe we were not even acknowledged as a country that has a market economy," he said. Yushchenko was elected to the presidency in 2004. Robust industrial production has been a big source of economic growth, he said.
"We have radically changed our relationship with investors," he said, noting that recent measures of foreign direct investment in Ukraine outpace even that of Poland, a previous guidepost for the economy when Yushchenko served as governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.
The country's two biggest challenges are a shortage of laborers and political strife within the national government, said Yushchenko.
Ukraine's coalition government was dissolved last week. Parties in parliament have 30 days from Sept. 16 to form a new government, after which Yushchenko can call new elections.
Yushchenko commented: "Ukraine has ample democratic resources to find a democratic answer."
The coalition unraveled after the president withdrew his party from the pro-Western coalition government, saying Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko had become too close to a pro-Russian opposition party. This comes less than four years after Yushchenko and Tymoshenko united in the "Orange Revolution" against a Moscow-backed presidential candidate.
Yushchenko also expressed his goal for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by the end of this year. He said the country has fulfilled everything it has to do for membership.
"I hope that this will take place in December," he said.