BRZEZINSKI IN UKRAINE, FORESEES EVENTUAL ACCESSION TO NATO.

Currently on a visit to Ukraine, Zbigniew Brzezinski stated at a news conference in Kyiv that Ukrainian successes in foreign policy far outpaced internal development. Brzezinski forecast that Ukraine would catch up on the domestic front and, by the year 2010, qualify for NATO membership. He listed four criteria for accession to NATO: a stable democracy, a functioning market economy, effective civilian control of the military and absence of serious territorial disputes. Ukraine currently meets two criteria, Brzezinski observed, without specifying which, but presumably referring to the latter two.

Brzezinski noted that Russia, by contrast, meets none of these criteria at present, although moving in the direction of market reforms. He urged Washington to treat “U.S.-Ukrainian relations as no less important than U.S.-Russian relations” in view of Ukraine’s key role in European security. President Leonid Kuchma, who held talks with Brzezinski yesterday, paid tribute to his role in “enlightening the world about Ukraine.” (Ukrainian agencies, May 31 and June 1)

CONSPIRATORS SENTENCED IN AZERBAIJAN.