Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said the ratification by Russia and Ukraine of the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet opens up new possibilities in strategic cooperation between the two countries, including military cooperation.
"No doubt, such a decision is unprecedented and it will reflect positively on the development of strategic relations between Russia and Ukraine," Rogozin told Interfax on Tuesday.
"I think the issue of the joint presence in Sevastopol of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy can lead to a deeper degree of military cooperation, although I believe Russia and Ukraine will maintain their contacts with other countries and NATO," Rogozin said.
"I hope our actions in these contacts will be simultaneous and will be coordinated," he said.
Rogozin reiterated that cooperation in the defense industry does not mean Ukraine’s status as a non-allied state should be reconsidered. "That, on the contrary, strengthens this status of Ukraine," he said.
As for the prospects of Ukraine’s membership in NATO, by deciding to keep the Russian military base in Sevastopol the Ukrainian political administration is making another step, which in effect closes the NATO prospect, Rogozin said. "Thus, Viktor Yanukovych confirms the choice of those political parties that led him to power and this choice is in favor of European integration, not NATO," he said.
The diplomat recalled that a NATO membership action plan can only be given to countries that have no foreign troops or bases on their territories and that do not have outside territorial problems with their neighbors.
"For this reason, the decision to extend the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet [in Ukraine], which essentially will ensure the security of Ukraine and Russia, closes the issue of Ukraine’s membership in NATO in the near-term and middle-term perspective. As for the more distance future, we don’t know if NATO will live to that time," Rogozin said.
