KIEV, April 28 – The ratification of an agreement extending the Russian Black Sea Fleet's presence on Ukrainian soil threatens Ukraine's ability to take independent foreign political decisions, said David J. Kramer, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and a Senior Transatlantic Fellow of the German Marshall Fund.

"Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Dmitry Rogozin has already said that Ukraine has already lost any possibility of joining NATO. I'm even more worried that there will be a lot of Europeans who'll say: 'Well, again, this Ukraine, we're tired of messing around with them, they sign agreements with Russia, and we don't have to worry about how to integrate them with Europe.' This is a very dangerous conclusion both for Ukraine and for the West, and I really hope this won't happen," the Voice of America quoted him as saying."