Ukraine May Denounce Kharkov Treaty

25.04.2012 This week Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich will endorse significant decrees determining national military policy for the next years. Those documents would unlikely be beneficial to Russian-Ukrainian military relations, including the Black Sea Fleet matters.

The question is promulgation of the new national security strategy and Ukraine's military doctrine which most probably would be published in April, since they were finally approbated by the President and National Security Council in the last week. Complete content of those documents has been presented neither to community, not to experts and politicians so far.

Commenting the documents, Viktor Yanukovich said that "the point is consideration and further adoption of the integrated system of official views on present-day international situation, Ukraine's role in the world and the region, key national interests, current threats to security, and main objectives of state policy".

Some officials in Yanukovich's circle say those documents would unlikely contribute to serious strengthening of Russo-Ukrainian relations, since Kiev "alters its strategic course" to be primarily aimed not at ties within CIS but at "eurointegration".

That is going to be an economy-oriented policy. Currently, the main issue here is disputes with Russia about gas price which is stipulated by so-called Kharkov Treaty signed on Apr 21, 2010. In exchange for Russia's concessions in gas contracts, Ukraine consented to prolong deployment of Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea till 2042.

Two years have passed since that time, and now Kiev pays for Russian gas more than some European countries do. According to Yanukovich, he is going to talk over this issue with recently elected Russian president Vladimir Putin after his inauguration. Alongside with that, Kiev protracts negotiations on rearmament and movements of Black Sea Fleet in Ukrainian territory and wants increase of lease payments for Ukrainian military assets used by BSF.