Yushchenko says Ukraine's territory will never be used against Russia

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said that he will order law enforcement agencies to analyze whether all of the Russian humanitarian and educational projects in Sevastopol are in line with Ukrainian laws.

He said at a press conference in Sevastopol on Sunday that a number of those projects were "unfriendly," as, in his opinion, they bring "instability and discord." "If these projects contradict Ukrainian laws, they shouldn't exist," Yushchenko said.

He said at events commemorating Ukrainian Fleet Day that the formation of a united collective security in Europe was the most reliable policy not directed against Russia. "This is a project of a sovereign nation that wants to give an answer to the fact that the collective security policy is the most reliable one," Yushchenko said. "I would advise the Russian side to stop viewing this subject as a step being used by Ukraine to pose new risks to the Russian nation or Russia," he said.

"Ukraine guarantees that no risks are being posed to Russia as part of Ukraine's security policy. Ukraine guarantees that there'll be no foreign soldier of any bloc or any country on its territory. This is our choice. The Constitution of Ukraine says so," Yushchenko said.

"The Ukrainian space - air, sea or land, will never be used against Russia," he said.

Yushchenko said that the question of the temporary stationing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (RBSF) in Crimea should not be politicized. "The date for the RBSF withdrawal [from Crimea] is determined by the Constitution of Ukraine.

This is 2017. So, I'd like to spend these seven years so that mutual relations between the two fleets [of Ukraine and Russia] are less politicized," he said. As UKRINFORM reported, the House of Moscow, the branch of Moscow State University, and the branch of the research institute of CIS countries are located in Sevastopol. Russia is also implementing a number of its projects in the city.

UKRINFORM