Borys Tarasiuk, head of the Ukrainian mission at NATO, told Ukrainian journalists recently that joining the alliance would take Ukraine about 5-7 years. Theoretically. In this period both sides could prepare, among other things psychologically. Ukraine would also have enough time to prepare its neighbors (mainly Russia) diplomatically for the move. Mr. Tarasiuk stressed again that this was just discussing a theoretical possibility, adding that he had discussed it also with noted US political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski who has predicted that Ukraine would join NATO in 2010 — 2015.
NATO functionaries (e.g., Deputy Secretary General for Policy Clyber) say that the subject of Ukraine's membership has not been broached only because there has been no official word from Kyiv.
The possibility of joining NATO as a global security system was repeatedly emphasized last year by Volodymyr Horbulin, Secretary of Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council. Quite recently, however, President Kuchma stated in Moscow that Ukraine had no such plans at present. Instead, he proposed another CIS conference to look for new ways of integration to create a single economic space - and this at a time when Europe and the United States are increasingly often reminding Kyiv to finally make up its mind about its strategic course.
Ukraine's "multivector" policy takes a remarkably winding course, but it is clear that very soon it will have to choose between helping Russia to restore its status as one geopolitical pole in a bipolar world or trying to build a multipolar world together with the US, Western Europe, and its closest eastern neighbors.
Joining NATO could be an option of Ukraine's genuine integration into the European community, while solving the problem of its own security, but this would obviously take a different Ukraine and a different alliance, the latter turning from a defensive bloc into an all-embracing security structure.
Under the circumstances, Ukraine ought to study the Turkish experience, as that country remains a NATO member no one wants in the European Union. Be it as it may, Ukraine's membership would bring it closer to what is known as European Atlantic civilization. Alas, the Ukrainian leadership behaves in a way that reminds one of a man picking his way through a back alley at night and stepping into one pile of canine feces after the next.






