The concept of neutrality in foreign policy is a concept of the past, former European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana has said.
He made the remark at a meeting of the Diplomatic Club involving influential Ukrainian politicians, experts and business leaders organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and the Arseniy Yatseniuk Foundation in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Answering a question about how he saw the neutral status of Ukraine expressed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Solana said that he thinks that neutrality is a concept of the past, not present day.
Ukraine and NATO are involved in active partnership. The two sides are cooperating on such a scale that Ukraine cannot be regarded as neutral, he said.
Solana also said that all debates on Ukraine’s neutrality to a certain extent are artificial.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott noted that with time the concept of neutrality is starting to lose its topicality.
In his opinion, even the European countries that are EU members but have not joined NATO will return to the issue.
He said NATO will continue to evolve.
