Anton Kuchuhidze, a foreign policy analyst and co-founder of the analytical center United Ukraine, believes that in 2022, many fundamental things happened for Ukraine in the sphere of foreign policy.
"Firstly, the state of Ukraine as an international player regained its subjectivity by destroying several myths, including the myth of Russia's invincibility. In this way, we helped many countries stop being afraid of the Russian Federation. Second, the Ukrainian army demonstrated its professionalism. All our defense and security forces, including the special services, have confirmed that even a great enemy can be defeated. Thirdly, never before in the history of Ukraine's independence has the president (who is responsible for foreign policy and is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief) had so much respect, power, and influence on the international arena. His statements have never had such weight, and his visits, like Zelensky's recent visit to the USA, have never been so widely covered. It was possible to achieve an increase in financial support for Ukraine - both in the military and economic aspects. There has never been such recognition - a politician of the year, leader of the year, etc. All this helps the president, all of our top military and political leadership to promote the interests of Ukraine much faster and more efficiently.”
Kuchihidze considers the fourth fundamental result to be the change in Ukraine's status in relations with the European Union. "Now we are not just a state that cooperates with the EU within the framework of the Association but also a candidate for the EU membership. This is an important legal step. This step became possible thanks to the heroism of the Ukrainian government-army-people triangle. I remind you that in December 2016, the European Council adopted the so-called additional protocol after the ratification of the Association Agreement. The agreement didn't provide for a dialogue regarding Ukraine's application for EU membership. The previous authorities kept it quiet. But now pro-Ukrainian sentiments in Europe have significantly increased, just like ours are pro-European. And EU membership has become a much closer prospect for Ukraine," the expert is confident.
He considers the fifth most important result to be the stopping of Nord Stream-2. According to Anton Kuchuhidze, this is a historic decision. What seemed impossible at the beginning of the year became a reality after the full-scale Russian aggression. Ukraine managed to convince its partners about the need to abandon Nord Stream-2. And this, the expert emphasizes, has sharply reduced the energy influence of Russia on the European market.
"Sixth, thanks to the work of Ukraine and Western partners, a record number of sanctions have been introduced against the aggressor state. Both against legal entities and individuals, as well as state companies, state institutions, banks, etc.," Anton Kuchuhiddze emphasized. All of the above, according to the expert, led to the seventh – strategically important – foreign policy breakthrough of Ukraine.
"We see an enormously high level of trust in our state. This is manifested in the transfer of new weapons, as well as financial, political, and diplomatic support to us by our partners. After all, our partners in the West (except for France and Hungary) realized that it is impossible to negotiate with Russia. Russia uses the negotiations exclusively to prepare for further military actions. Finally, the majority of the states of the collective West have come to understand that the security system of Ukraine is closely connected with the security system of the collective West on the European continent, regardless of where NATO's borders end legally and formally. At the NATO G7 level, it is clearly stated that military-technical and other support for Ukraine will be indefinite. Until our victory. Ukrainian diplomacy has become significantly more active in all countries, as the expert summarized. Ukraine shall make effective foreign policy decisions in the new year, beating the enemy on all fronts."
Source: Comments.ua
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