MOSCOW, July 18 – Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Friday it was concerned over joint NATO-Ukraine naval exercises in the Black Sea, its first such complaint the in many years the annual Sea Breeze exercises have been running.

The statement represents a new wave of tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with Moscow heavily opposing Kiev’s push for greater cooperation and for the eventual accession to NATO.

"The nature of the exercises, the attempts to present them as anti-Russian and the participation of states from outside the region inevitably raise questions and some degree of concern," the ministry said in the statement.

"Why was the Black Sea chosen to achieve the dubious goals of these exercises? One would think the countries surrounding the sea are capable of acting themselves, without 'paternalistic' interference from without, to guarantee security and stability on the Black Sea."

The remark was apparently aimed at the involvement of the U.S. troops. Other forces at the exercises include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, the U.K., Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia and Turkey.

The Sea Breeze-2008 exercises were launched Monday in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odessa amid protests by several dozen Ukrainians.
They run until July 26.

The exercises apparently include intelligence work, searches for enemy submarines and test firing of munitions.

Russia, which is sensitive to NATO’s expansion toward its borders, has been warning of serious consequences if Ukraine and fellow former Soviet state Georgia join the military alliance.

Moscow has been accusing Kiev of pushing hard for the accession despite the protests of Ukrainians.

President Viktor Yushchenko said the accession to NATO is needed for Ukraine to protect its security, a clear reference to Russia’s military dominance in the region.

“Ukraine needs security guarantees, which are unthinkable outside the Euro-Atlantic space,” Yushchenko told Society, an Austrian quarterly, in interview released by his press service.

“The European headway is not a fashionable trend or a declaration for Ukraine. This is a comeback to the clear and customary environment,” Yushchenko said. “European countries and Russia are aware of the Ukrainian role of a key link of international energy security. Thus, we can feel that we are on a very important mission – the unification of the continent.”

“The shortest routes between the West and the East go through my country. This makes Ukraine a key link of the continental energy security. Both Europe and Russia understand that,” he said.

The EU and NATO are time-tested standards of democracy, human rights, living standards and social security, Yushchenko said. In addition, the mounting globalization trends leave no chance to geopolitical hermits.

The dynamics of Ukrainian contacts with the EU and NATO shows reciprocal interest, Yushchenko said. “It’s vile to think that Ukraine is dreaming of European charity. We have a huge labor, industrial and energy potential, and united Europe can use it to overcome the global crises,” Yushchenko said.

Ukraine has been engaged in cooperation with NATO since the mid-1990s. Pro-Western leaders, brought to power by 2004 Orange Revolution protests against election fraud, have made NATO and European Union membership the cornerstone of foreign policy.

A NATO summit in April turned down Ukraine's bid to secure a Membership Action Plan — a fast track to eventual membership — but assured Kiev it would one day join the alliance.

About 150 demonstrators staged a protest this week against the exercises, much smaller than in recent years.

"Mass protests against the exercises reflects the mood of public opinion in Ukraine in relation to the current Ukrainian administration's path towards forcing entry into the alliance," Russia’s foreign ministry said. (tl/ez)