President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko announced that the Russia-Ukraine treaty on friendship, cooperation and partnership had been extended for another 10-year period, the president`s press office reported.
September 30 was the last day for the parties to voice their intentions to terminate it, and none of them did. According to the press office, Yushchenko asserted that Ukraine was poised to further develop its relations with Russia on a parity basis and with due respect to the two nations` independence and their sovereign right to shape their policies on key internal and foreign issues.
However, the president admitted that Ukraine and Russia were split on issues of the future structure of European and Euro-Atlantic security, as well as on multilateral international cooperation. He stated that while Ukraine respected Russia`s choice to build its own security policy, it also stood by the view that a collective security model was the best option for the Ukrainian people.
