Never say that diplomats aren't a perceptive lot:
Ukraine says it will officially notify now-bitter rival Russia on September 21 that it will not extend its treaty of friendship, cooperation, and partnership with Moscow.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on September 19 that Kyiv will notify all relevant organizations, including the United Nations, about the move.
The 10-year treaty was originally signed on May 31, 1997, with a clause that set its automatic extension if the parties did not take action to end it. The treaty took effect on April 1, 1999.
So Russia and Ukraine are "bitter rivals" now? Russia invades and occupies Ukrainian territory and that is the most accurate way for RFE/RL (I expect better from them) to describe the relationship?
I was going to focus on the ability of Ukrainian diplomats to ignore reality for so long, but our soft power people aren't much better, eh? Ukraine at least had the excuse of the agreement having no means to cancel it outside of the ten-year increments.
