The Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral relations by their roots become a thing of the past. During Kyivsky Russ on the way to West-India trade people used to stop at the territory of the ancient Colchis Kingdom getting acquainted with natives, their culture, habits and traditions. Historical sources certify that Zaporizhsky Cossacks actively helped the Georgian people in the fight for their independence.
Escaping from the Osman oppression thousands of Georgians migrated to Ukraine. In Georgians-emigrants surroundings in Ukraine a classic of the Georgian literature David Guramishvili grew creatively.
Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka during their lives supported strong and friendly links with the intellectuals of Georgia.
On 5 December, 1918 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia, two independent countries, was signed. It became a reliable basis of the Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral relations.
On 12 December, 1991 negotiations on establishing diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Georgia began. The Protocol on establishing diplomatic relations between two countries should have been signed in the end of 1991. However, the events of 22 December, 1991 – January, 1992 that resulted in Military Council establishing in Georgia broke off the process. The diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Georgia were established on 21 July, 1992 by notes changing.
The main step in the Georgian-Ukrainian relations was the official visit of Eduard Shevardnadze, the Head of the State, the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, to Ukraine on 12-13 April, 1993. The assignment of Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Aid between Ukraine and the Republic of Georgia was key result of the visit.
On 5 April, 1994 the Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia began its functioning and the Embassy of Georgia in Ukraine - on 19 August, 1994.
The visits and meetings in 1999-2000 had contributed heavily into the Georgian-Ukrainian relations development.
In 1999 the President of Ukraine was on a working visit in Georgia in the course of which the opening of railway ferry Poti/Batumi-Illichivsk and oil terminal Baku-Supsa were celebrated. Besides a large-scale Treaty of Economic Cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia for 1999 to 2008 was signed. In the work of the round table “BSEC on the threshold of XXI century” and the 13th Meeting of BSEC state-members Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the delegations of the Ukraine Verkhovna Rada and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated. The Ukraine’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Defence, Transport, Communications and National Migration State Committee visited Georgia. In the course of these visits 17 legal documents in different spheres were signed. The total amount of the signed documents between Ukraine and Georgia are 115.
On 15-16 March, 2000 the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma paid an official visit to Georgia on the Georgia’s President Eduard Shevardnadze invitation within of which the sides confirmed their readiness to aid each other in common foreign policy goal getting – integration to the European political, economic and cultural space.
On 4 August, 2000 there was a visit of the Ukraine’s Prime-Minister Victor Jushchenko to Georgia that gave a sturdy impetus to the bilateral relations development.
The Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral relations have a very solid treaty and legal basis – 115 signed documents. The documents concerns practically all spheres of cooperation including:
The aforementioned treaty and legal documents conclusion promoted bilateral relations deepening. At the same time, some recently concluded documents haven’t come into force and lost their actuality.
As to the economic sphere, in spite of the trade turnover increasing the reached level of Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral relations cooperation couldn’t be considered sufficient, taking into account the economic potential of two countries, their mutual interests in development of such partnership (see Economic Section).
According to the reached agreements that are sealed in the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Aid between two countries and in line with the provisions of the Agreement concerning Military Cooperation between Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and Ministry of Defence of Georgia, the active interaction goes on in issues of armed forces and military cadre training at Ukrainian military scientific institutions. Both military establishments take existing possibilities to coordinate efforts to provide coordinated military policy with full and accurate realization of the reached agreements.
The representatives of the Armed Forces of Georgia took part in the NATO programs multinational military exercises “Peace Shield-99” and “ CI-Brizz-99” which were held in Ukraine. At mutually beneficial terms the Georgian side is helped in aviation ammunition salvaging, equipment repairing, Georgian servicemen teaching in Ukraine. The representatives of Ukraine together with other countries specialists continue to aid Georgia in establishing Frontier Forces infrastructure and Naval Forces.
The held at the territory of Georgia multinational exercises with the participation of Georgian, Azerbaijan and Ukrainian AF subunits had an important political resonance of military-political and military character to provide functioning of the Western route of the Caspian early oil transportation. During the exercises the Ukrainian side bore the main load including technical protecting of the pipe line.
A significant military-political event has become the third graduates of the Georgian officers who studied at the National Academy of Defence. In these solemn occasions the Georgia’s Defence Ministry delegation headed by the Minister of Defence David Tevzadze participated.
Georgia was one of the initiators of expanding GUUAM owing to Uzbekistan. The authorities of Georgia’s MFA regard favourably the Ukraine’s MFA initiative to make more active work within GUUAM, in particular institutionalization of the forum, regular meetings, consultations, developing common attitudes in deciding international and regional problems.
The further participation of Georgia in CIS, first of all, depends on the Georgian-Russian bilateral relations development. However, the Georgian authorities haven’t declared a possible withdrawal from CIS yet. Georgia hasn’t continued its participation in Tashkent Treaty of the Collective Security.
Today one of the most crucial problematic issues of the bilateral relations is the need to strengthen economic cooperation between two countries. In this connection the Joint Intergovernmental Georgian-Ukrainian Commission on economic cooperation activities has an extraordinary significance. Having opened railway ferry Poti/Batumi-Illichivsk and oil terminal Baku-Supsa, increased passenger and cargo traffic from Ukraine, involved Ukrainian organizations to reconstruct Western Georgian port infrastructures, the issue of Ukraine’s Consulate opening in Poti has already been determined.