UKRAINIAN DIRECTION OF FOREIGN POLICY BNR (1918–1921)

Abstract

At the final stage of the I World War, the national movements of a number of peoples of Central and Eastern Europe, which sought to gain their own statehood, became more active. Under these circumstances, the leadership of the BNR needed to establish constructive relations with its closest neighbors: the Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians. A few days after the proclamation of the independence of the BNR on March 25, 1918, a diplomatic mission was sent to Kiev from the Belarusian government headed by A. Tsvikevich, who met almost all the leaders of the Central Rada, including M. Hrushevsky, in early April. This mission was in fact the first diplomatic experience of the young republic. Ukrainian politicians, on the whole, reacted positively to the content of the Third Charter, noting their interest in creating a friendly neutral state on their borders, but they did not hurry to recognize the BNR, referring to the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The issue of disputed territories in the Belarusian-Ukrainian borderland remained unresolved. The plans of the Ukrainian-Belarusian federation were not to be realized. The Ukrainian side did not differ in consistency in its foreign policy strategy and in the conditions of a very shaky domestic political situation, was interested in a dialogue with those forces that could give it real help. The Ukrainian politicians did not see the Belarusians among them. After of the Treaty of Riga in March 18, 1921 between Poland and Soviet Russia put both sides at a very disadvantageous position in the international arena, forcing us to regretfully recall the opportunities missed earlier for more effective cooperation.