KYIV. Nov 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Ukraine does not plan to break the Black Sea Fleet agreement with Russia, Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said in Kyiv on Thursday.
"Again, no breaking of the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet's being based in Ukraine is being or will be discussed. What can be discussed, however, is the implementation of the agreed provisions and Ukrainian laws," Tarasyuk told a seminar on Ukrainian foreign policy as an instrument of safeguarding the state's national interests.
Tarasyuk said that cooperation with Russia ranks among Ukraine's foreign policy priorities. "Our dialogue is equitable and dynamic, and there is much we can be proud of in our interstate relations," the foreign minister said.
He said the other priorities were further dialogue with the European Union and NATO.
Not only the central authorities, but also local ones play an important role in providing objective information about NATO, he said.
Broad popular support is the crucial condition for membership of NATO. To secure it the government and the foreign ministry have been running a relevant information campaign, Tarasyuk said.
"The state must not finance "for or against NATO" campaigns. The people are to decide," he said.