More and more Ukrainian publications like Novii Region or Versii accuse President Viktor Yuschenko of deliberately giving up the Serpents Island to enter NATO, of which Romania is already a member. Ukrainian diplomats practically stopped fighting for the island at Yuschenko's request, Ukrainian political analyst Andrey Ermolaev claims.
Ermolaev declared that this is too big of a price to be paid and added that NATO compromised its role in the region. These weeks, in Hague, the International Court of Justice is hearing both Romania and Ukraine in the dispute over the Black Sea continental plateau.
Experts underline that if Yuschenko continues to be responsible for the country's foreign affairs strategies, then serious compromises will be made in the detriment of the country's interests. Analysts add that even though their country need to enter the NATO umbrella, the Serpent Island is too big of a compromise.
