BRUSSELS, March 2 (UPI) -- The European Union rolled out the red carpet for Ukraine's new President Viktor Yanukovych who made his first foreign trip to Brussels rather than Moscow.
A few days after his inauguration as Ukraine's president, Yanukovych relieved leaders in Europe when he promised closer relations with the EU rather than turning eastward toward integration with Russia.
"For Ukraine, European integration is a key priority of our foreign policy," Yanukovych said Monday in Brussels, flanked by a beaming European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Leaders in Europe had been worried that Yanukovych, who is considered much more pro-Russian than his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, would end Ukraine's westward course.
His decision to travel to Brussels first has pleased Western officials.
Gernot Erler, a former deputy foreign minister for Germany from the Social Democratic Party, at a panel discussion Monday in Berlin said the decision is "more than a courtesy visit, it's a political signal."
Yanukovych is not expected to sacrifice better relations with Moscow for better ties with the West; rather, he will try to balance diplomacy to please as many sides as possible, observers say.
In Brussels, Yanukovych said he would try to develop "friendly relations with strategic partners such as the United States," adding that Ukraine's partnership programs with NATO would remain unchanged.
With the support of former U.S. President George W. Bush, Yushchenko had tried to take Ukraine into NATO but the plan did not materialize when France and Germany intervened.
While Yanukovych has campaigned against NATO membership, he has so far abstained to making radical changes to cooperation with the alliance.
"As to the future, it's an issue to negotiate, to discuss, but the status of Ukraine (toward NATO) is not going to change," he said.
What has to change lies inside Ukraine. The country's economy is in shambles and internal bickering between the country's leaders has prevented the International Monetary Fund from unlocking billions of dollars in financial aid to stabilize the Ukrainian budget and currency.
The EU is pressing Kiev to restart negotiations with the IMF.
Barroso promised Ukraine nearly $700 million in micro-financial assistance "once Ukraine gets back on track with the IMF."
He added that Brussels and Kiev are negotiating a new association agreement that will include a "deep and comprehensive free trade agreement," offering Ukraine access to the 500-million-people-strong EU market with the perspective to "in a very short period doubling exports to the EU."
Brussels is eager to pull Ukraine, an important energy transit country of 46 million people located between the EU and Russia, westward.
Yet before aid money can flow, Yanukovych needs to implement reforms to stop corruption and modernize the economy.
Erler, the German diplomat, said it is "unbelievable and irresponsible that talks with the IMF are put on hold."
"Ukraine has a chance to end the blocking process and we expect that the new leaders take that chance," he said.
