Viktor Yushchenko seems at time to be more interested in completing assession to NATO than to tackling the problems of his fragile presidency. This is interesting seeing that NATO officials and member heads of state have not exactly thrown their arms around the Ukrainian president as he moves from constituent to constituent trying to rustle up an invitation. One can see that Yuschenko’s tactic of assuming membership and imploring the alliance to hurry up already with the papers is starting to grate on the (admittedly) thin patience of the slow-witted NATO administration.

Curious, then, that headlines trumpet a breakthrough in Ukraine-Atlantic Alliance relations and quote, sort of, the latest bureaucrat to give Viktor a hands up:

NATO is ready to help Ukraine in its bid to become a member, alliance Secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Monday after meeting Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk in Kiev.

De Hoop Scheffer, on a one-day visit, also met with President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and other top officials, Associated Press reported.

Yushchenko, who was brought to power by last fall????????s ???????Orange revolution???????, has sought to bring this former Soviet republic of 48 million people into the European Union and NATO, putting these goals into Ukraine????????s defense doctrine. He has set 2008 as the target date for joining NATO.

Sounds pretty promising, no? The 2008 target is a little ambitious, but if NATO wants this to happen, anything is possible.

But what to make of what De Hoop Scheffer (the best-named stiff in the whole damn treaty) actually said?

???????I know that the Ukrainian government is on the reform path. NATO and myself as the secretary-general will assist Ukraine,??????? de Hoop Scheffer said. He did not elaborate.

Oh. Hmmm. What exactly does the secretary-general mean by assist? He pointedly did not say, “…assist in Ukraine’s application for membership in the Atlantic Treaty.” Would that have been too much to ask? Apparently. Even though Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine’s bid, many other member nations have legitmate concerns over the slow pace of reform and the current state of governance. Yushchenko has squandered a huge amount of political capital and goodwill left over from the Orange Revolution. Another concern, less articulated though widely thought, is Ukraine’s still significant ties to Russia. The relationship between Ukarinian Security Service (SBU) and CIS Intelligence would make the sharing of intelligence between NATO and Ukraine problematic.

The basis for relations between Ukraine and the Alliance in the 1997 NATO-Ukraine Charter on a Distinctive Partnership. Ukraine is also a member (since 1994, the first former CIS member to do so) of NATO’s Partnership for Peace, which despite its touchy-feely name serves as a platform for NATO assession. Ukraine has soldiers on the ground in Kosovo under NATO command and is active in many Alliance Working Groups. So there are significant strides being made for Ukraine to become a the Eastern-most member of the Atlantic Alliance. But for now, NATO officials are content to praise Yushchenko and Ukraine and offer vague “assistance” without fully committing either to a timetable or formal talks to assession.