Ukraine & Russia Create Yushchenko-Putin Commission

The bilateral commission will review the status of Russian Ukrainian relations and discuss political, economic, and national security issues. Concorde Capital:Ukraine might be hoping to use the commission as a replacement for the CIS agreement, which has proved inefficient in handling Ukraine-Russia relations. The commission?s activities will be coordinated by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, which will be beneficial for its Secretary Petro Poroshenko. His political opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, is likely to have a secondary role.