Great Britain is planning to participate in the 1998 Sea Breeze naval exercise to be organized by Ukraine on the Black Sea toward the end of October, Admiral Peter Abbot, Vice Lord of the British Admiralty, announced while on an official visit to Kyiv.
Last year Britain avoided Sea Breeze and sent a team of observers. At the time analysts suggested that London did not want to irritate the Kremlin, chagrined by the maneuvers, any further. This time Admiral Abbot said with satisfaction that the signing of the Russian-Ukrainian Black Sea accords, though still unratified, added to the region’s stability, and that Britain considers relations with Ukraine a serious priority. The Royal Navy’s ship London is a potential participant in Sea Breeze, and next week Polish-Ukrainian-British airborne units will begin exercises on the British trial ground at Somersby. The maneuvers will be held under the title Cossack Steppe and observed by the three defense ministers






