Is Ukraine the key to making Russia a superpower again? ? Is the Obama administration approach towards Russia a de facto political message/signal that Washington is no longer interested in pushing the agenda of integrating Ukraine in NATO? FP Romania talked about these issues with Janusz Bugajski, senior fellow of the CSIS in Washington.

FP Romania: Could the results of the current elections be interpreted as the end of the Western path for Ukraine in the foreseeable future?

Janusz Bugajski: That is too simplistic an interpretation. President-elect Victor Yanukovych has stated his commitment to EU integration and to maintain good relations with NATO. It is not in his interest to move Ukraine away from the West and into the Russian orbit as Ukraine would be swallowed politically and economically by Moscow and his own stature would decline. However, Ukraine ’s path toward the West depends on the seriousness and effectiveness of its reform programs in meeting EU standards. Meanwhile, NATO inclusion will remain on hold not only because of Kyiv but also because of the unwillingness of several NATO allies to push for Ukrainian membership as we saw demonstrated at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008.

What are the Russian main interests vis-à-vis Ukraine ? For some voices, Ukraine is the key to making Russia a superpower again. Is Ukraine still the powder keg of the relations between the West & Russia?

Russia has two main interests in Ukraine. First to prevent the country from merging into NATO and establishing close ties with the United States, as well as with neighbors already in the Alliance, including Romania. Second, Russia views Ukraine as an important element in its own reimperialization and in restoring its dominant political and economic role in Eastern Europe . Hence, it either seeks a pliant government in Kyiv that will acquiesce to Moscow’