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Poland Ukraine
Despite a centuries-old legacy of conflict, relations
between
Poland and Ukraine steadily improved after 1989,
particularly
after Ukraine gained its independence in late 1991. In the
fall
of 1990, the countries signed a declaration of friendship
and
cooperation, renouncing all territorial claims against one
another and guaranteeing the rights of national minorities
on
their territories. Ground-breaking bilateral economic and
cultural agreements followed in 1991, as Ukraine emerged
from
Moscow's domination and reoriented itself toward Central
Europe
and Western Europe.
Both countries had much to gain from improved ties.
Kiev
sought Polish intercession to gain acceptance in European
economic and security organizations; Warsaw welcomed the
prospect
of a nonthreatening, denuclearized neighbor on its eastern
border.
Hours after the results of a referendum on Ukrainian
independence were announced in December 1991, Poland was
the
first country to grant diplomatic recognition to the new
nation.
A bilateral cooperation treaty ensuring minority rights on
each
side of the border was signed during the May 1992 visit to
Warsaw
of Ukraine's President, Leonid Kravchuk. The treaty called
for
annual consultations between the countries' foreign
ministers and
cooperation in economic, cultural, scientific, and
environmental
affairs. During Walesa's visit to Moscow (also in May
1992) to
sign long-awaited troop withdrawal and bilateral
cooperation
treaties, Walesa noted the rapid progress in bilateral
relations
since 1989 and hailed the countries' new emphasis on
future goals
rather than past conflicts. Walesa also noted that the
concept of
a Warsaw-Moscow-Kiev alliance, raised in his talks with
Yeltsin,
would depend most heavily on peaceful relations between
Russia
and Ukraine. This observation reaffirmed Poland's
neutrality in
ongoing Russian-Ukrainian disagreements over the ownership
of the
Black Sea Fleet, Crimea, and other territories.
Data as of October 1992
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