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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko was waiting in his office for news of the talks, looking a little absent-minded. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

As a member of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine's economic system is largely similar to that of the former Soviet Union. That is, the military industry is developed, while the light industry and other fields are weak. This kind of 'freak' caused by the former Soviet Union has made Ukraine's economy show negative growth after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, and in the years just after the disintegration, Ukraine's main economy even relied on the support of the military industry.

This situation did not change until the beginning of the 21st century, when the economy began to recover, and the annual growth rate even exceeded 10% in 02-04.

However, this 'high-speed' economic growth rate is brought about by the sudden filling of some blank areas, and it can also be said that some heavy industries are desperately squeezing the last drop of blood. The rapid economic growth slowed in '05 to less than 3 percent, and hovered below 5 percent for the next two years.

This situation has prompted several successive political axes to do everything possible to revive the economy, and the reduction of military spending is an important means of easing the financial pressure.

However, it is absolutely not okay for a country to have no defense. In particular, Ukraine, a country that has inherited a large amount of the 'wealth' of the former Soviet Union, is itself coveted by countless countries and organizations.

With the stabilization of the domestic economy, through the reduction of expansion, the political axe and the military have begun to think about the formation of a modern army to develop plans. It is expected that by 2015, a modern army of appropriate size and advanced equipment will be built.

But all this is based on one condition, that is, there are enough funds. Whether it is used for the research and development of new weapons or for manufacturing, it will take a lot of money to provide sufficient military spending for the army and improve the treatment of officers and soldiers.

As president, Yushchenko turned a blind eye to the various methods used by some domestic groups in order to obtain funds, as long as they were not excessive.

For example, the Supreme Soviet (parliament) auctions off large quantities of stored Soviet weapons every year, which is a means of obtaining funds.

This time, the Somali political axe threw out a big order, and it was not the kind of 'tender' order, but directly approached Ukraine, and Yushchenko was very satisfied and happy. He sees this as a help to Ukraine in another sense of the Somali political axe.

After all, in today's society, as long as there is money, most advanced weapons can be bought. You don't even need to show up in person, as long as you show a hint of noise, a large number of salesmen from international arms dealers will come to your door. The Somali political axe could well choose this approach to obtain the maximum benefit at the minimum cost.

Although the Ukrainian political axe has also inherited a lot of military industry and technology from the former Soviet Union, it is still much inferior to Russia.

Therefore, Yushchenko secretly decided in his heart that he must give the 'Somali friends' a suitable price, at least not to let the 'Somali friends' suffer. Buying and selling is a win-win situation. The Somali government has already purchased four missile boats worth $45 million in Ukraine, and if this large order is reached, the relationship between the two countries will definitely be closer because of the arms sale. Yushchenko believes that as long as the Ukrainian political axe expresses enough sincerity this time and gives the Somali political axe preferential treatment, the next order for the Somali political axe, the Ukrainian political axe is still very likely to take it.

Ukraine's military-industrial technology is very strong, it just lacks the funds to turn these technologies into physical objects. As a result, it is impossible to upgrade the advanced technology in hand. People with little vision know that in the long run, the technology in the hands of Ukraine will sooner or later become a pile of garbage, and the Ukrainian political axe will inevitably be squeezed out of a large arms selling country.

Yushchenko is even thinking that Ukraine has technology, and Somali has money. Although he does not know where the Somali political axe got the money from, it is not his responsibility. If the two countries cooperate, I am afraid that it will be extremely beneficial to both sides.

Of course, these ideas were still only a child's form in Yushchenko's mind, and this matter was not something he could decide alone; If the Somali political axe sends a large order, so that both the Ukrainian political axe and the military are full of affection for Somalia and establish friendship, this idea may also become a reality.

"President, the presidential line from the White House, are you coming in?" Just when Yushchenko was happily fantasizing that he would bring Ukraine's military industry back up through cooperation and embark on the path of commercial cooperation and sustainable development, a staff member of the presidential palace walked in and asked in a low voice.

Yushchenko's face froze, and he nodded solemnly and said, "Take it in immediately." ”

Fifteen minutes later, Yushchenko hung up with a strange expression. The call was made directly from the White House. The person who can talk to him directly is naturally US President George W. Bush.

On the phone, George W. Bush talked about the friendship between Ukraine and the United States, and mentioned Ukraine's current diplomatic priorities: priority to join the European Union and NATO. George W. Bush hinted on the phone that the US political axe will do its best to remove obstacles to Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO.

Naturally, Yushchenko was overjoyed by these words, and Ukraine's foreign policy has always focused on relations between major powers, which means that it is friendly with both the eastern and western powers at the same time, and politically it is not completely biased towards one side or the other. Since 02, Ukraine and Russia have deepened high-level exchanges, and every year there are mutual visits and meetings between the prime ministers and even presidents of the two countries. At the same time, Ukraine hopes to become an 'associate member' of the European Union, as if it were a 'registered disciple', and wants to join NATO and become a member of NATO. It's just that before the Iraq war, Ukraine sold military radars to Iraq, which caused strong dissatisfaction with the US political axe, and even publicly blamed the Ukrainian political axe, and caused the Ukrainian political axe to be dissatisfied with the United States. Joining NATO has been slow to move for a long time.

The countries of the world are now not as polarized as they were during the Cold War, but they are also divided into large camps. Ukraine wants to be friendly on both sides, and it will certainly not be a problem in general. However, it will not be included in the 'core' by your own faction. Neither the US political axe nor the European Union wants Ukraine to step on two boats, so the opening of the door to accept Ukraine has been postponed for various reasons.

Bush Jr.'s sudden mention of opening an opening for Ukraine will certainly make Yushchenko excited. But then, Bush Jr. faintly pointed out on the phone that Ukraine, as a 'military power' and a non-permanent member of the Security Council, has the heavy responsibility of maintaining regional peace and stability, and when selling arms to foreign countries, it is necessary to seriously consider that advanced weapons will not be acquired by some organizations that undermine regional and even global peace and stability.

It wasn't until he hung up the phone that Yushchenko understood why George W. Bush was calling at night. Affection is for arms sales to Somalia.

Some time ago, the Soken War broke out, and it is not a secret to the outside world that the American political axe may be involved, let alone the president of a country like him. Of course, there are intelligence agencies and networks to obtain some confidential information.

The American political axe and the Somali political axe are not on the right path!

Bush Jr. called to remind Yushchenko of this and to make him make a choice with the temptation of joining NATO.

This made Yushchenko embarrassed. The benefits of joining NATO are enormous. After all, NATO can be said to be the largest organization in the world at the moment, except, of course, the United Nations. Following the first major organization, it is naturally fragrant and spicy. Safety is also guaranteed.

But Yushchenko is the president of a country, the old fox. Of course, I understand that Bush Jr. cannot fully believe what he said. After all, when did you join NATO? One year or five years? Hints like this on the phone are simply uncountable. Yushchenko would not believe that Bush Jr. would definitely fulfill this implication.

At the moment, arms sales to Somalia are tangible benefits.

Although, on the whole, joining NATO is certainly more cost-effective than an order of several hundred million dollars. But Yushchenko understands that there is no free lunch in the world, not to mention whether the US political axe will fulfill its commitments, once Ukraine joins NATO, it will inevitably be constrained by the alliance, and it is impossible to imagine that it is now left and right.

Yushchenko was embarrassed and called the speaker and the prime minister. The three of them studied it together.

When Yushchenko said what Bush Jr. had hinted at on the phone, the speaker and the prime minister were also embarrassed. Agreeing to Bush Jr.'s hint and refusing arms sales to Somalia will not only push a large amount of orders out of the door, but will also offend Somalia. The most important thing is that now the military and political circles in Ukraine are staring at this matter, or the dollar in Somalia's pocket, and if they reject Somalia, Yushchenko will offend a large number of people in the country. It has only been a few years since the public accusations of the United States, and there are still many officials within the political axe who are dissatisfied with the American political axe, and once these people make a fuss, the impact will be too great.

And choosing to continue negotiations with Somalia will definitely offend the United States, and in this way, joining NATO will become a fool's dream. It will even affect Ukrainian-American diplomatic relations.

"President, the current NATO is not the NATO of the past." At that moment, the Prime Minister spoke.

Yushchenko and the speaker of the parliament were stunned when they heard this, and they did not understand the meaning of the prime minister's words for a while.

"The existence of NATO is due to the establishment of the Yalta system in the world strategic pattern after World War II. The two major military alliances, the Warsaw Pact led by the former Soviet Union and NATO, led by the United States, confronted each other. With the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact, and the existence of NATO has affected the balance of the world. For Europe in particular, NATO is a tight mantra and a sign that the United States controls the European defense system. After all, the large number of nuclear weapons and troops deployed by the United States in Europe has affected the autonomy of European countries and made European countries feel deeply uneasy...... For our country, joining NATO is not an ideal choice, and pursuing a 'European strategy' is in our immediate interests. "The prime minister has said so much, which means that he cannot join NATO, otherwise he will be controlled and influenced by the United States.

(To be continued)