Yushchenko proposes international guarantees on behalf of Ukraine

President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko claims that Ukraine is ready to give international guarantees of non-deployment of nuclear arms and foreign bases at its territory, and defense of its air space, in case of its integration with NATO.

According to an UNIAN correspondent, the President said this speaking at a meeting with Swiss business circles within frames of his visit to Switzerland on Friday, May 15.

Speaking about advantages of Ukraine’s integration with NATO, Victor Yushchenko expressed an opinion that Ukraine will follow the path of eastern European countries, which integrated into the NATO from the Warsaw Treaty after the collapse of the USSR.

He stressed that he understands that the Euro-Atlantic ideology is perceived with difficulty in Ukraine, which “had lived in false ideology, portraying the NATO as an enemy, for much more years”.

“I do not neglect people’s opinion, but they should understand that our country has been living with a foreign base at its territory for 17 years already, and that our constitutional right on withdrawal of these troops is solved so difficultly, and that we are living with the Russian State Duma’s decision that Sevastopol is a Russian city”, Victor Yushchenko said.

He stressed that Europe is not interested that Ukraine be a zone of instability at the continent. The President listed the example of Georgia, which was left without a part of its territory after an armed conflict. “Europe got a red card, for the first time during so many years nobody could guarantee a territorial integrity of the country”, the President of Ukraine said.

At the same time, Victor Yushchenko stressed that Europe will only gain if Ukraine integrates with NATO and becomes a stable zone.