KYIV. Dec 10 (Interfax) - Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has signed into law a bill terminating the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation as of April 1, 2019, the presidential press service said.
"The non-extension of the treaty with Russia should be seen not as an episode, but as a part of our strategy on our final break from the colonial past and reorientation towards Europe. The other elements of this strategy are: visa-free travel, the association agreement with the European Union, the tomos to create an autocephalous, independent Ukrainian church, exiting the CIS, writing our NATO and EU membership aspirations into the Constitution, creating a strong, patriotic, and professional Ukrainian army, supporting the Ukrainian language, our national history, and strengthening our national identity," Poroshenko said.
The treaty was not terminated earlier so that its provisions could be invoked in many international lawsuits Ukraine is filing against Russia, he said.
Ukraine used every possibility granted by the document in its national interest, Poroshenko said.
The treaty's termination was approved by the Rada on December 6.
According to the law, the termination relieves Ukraine of any obligation to comply with the treaty and does not affect the rights, obligations, or legal position which arose for Ukraine as the result of the implementation of the treaty prior to its termination, in accordance with Article 70 of the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties.
Russia violated the treaty by carrying out "armed aggression" against Ukraine, the law says.
It takes the day after publication.
The treaty was signed in Kyiv on May 31, 1997, for a ten-year term (with subsequent automatic prolongation unless the parties decided otherwise). It was ratified by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada on January 14, 1998, and by Russia's State Duma on December 25, 1998. It took effect on April 1, 1999, when the two sides exchanged their instruments of ratification.
Poroshenko instructed the Foreign Ministry to finish taking stock of the treaties with Russia, a statement posted on the head of state's official website on Monday said.
"We will continue drawing conclusions about the usefulness of particular treaties," he said.
The government should also set up an emergency inter-agency coordinating body to formulate a consolidated claim against Russia "for the losses caused by the long-running armed aggression," Poroshenko said.
"I hope its special status and special functions will make this body quite effective in fulfilling the task of protecting Ukraine's national interests," he said.
The president stressed the need for such a body at a meeting with foreign ambassadors in August.