End political strife to join EU, Ukraine told

YALTA, Ukraine, June 30 (Reuters) Ukraine will undoubtedly one day join the European Union, elder European statesmen told a conference, but the former Soviet state must first put an end to its long-running political crises.

Former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who played a key role in solving a political impasse in the 2004 ''Orange Revolution'', told a conference yesterday Ukraine was in need of stability after months of squabbling between its political leaders.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Ukrainian membership of what is now a 27-nation bloc ''is a question of time'', but that laying the foundations would take work.

Kwasniewski said Europe was weary of instability in the 2 1/2 years since the ''Orange Revolution'' brought pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko to power.

''What we have here is a permanent crisis and this is something that must be ended,'' Kwasniewski told the Yalta European Strategy think-tank in the Black Sea resort.

''You need one day to deliver the message to Europe -- look in Ukraine, we have stability.'' Yushchenko beat rival Viktor Yanukovich in the re-run of a rigged election, organised with the help of international mediators. He immediately drew up plans to secure eventual membership of the EU and NATO, after a decade of often troubled relations with both under his predecessor, Leonid Kuchma.

OPTIMISM FADES Initial optimism faded as the president's ''Orange'' team shattered and he fired his government within eight months.

Yanukovich's Regions Party came first in a parliamentary election last year and he became prime minister.

The rivals sniped for months until the president dissolved parliament in April and, after weeks of new rows, a deal was clinched to hold a new election in September. The EU, which backed Yushchenko in the 2004 standoff, took no side this time.

Ukraine, now bordering four EU states, is negotiating a cooperation agreement with the bloc which could lead to a free trade area. The EU has not set a timetable for accession.

Obstacles to be cleared before membership talks can even begin include Ukraine's 13-year-old bid to join the World Trade Organisation and a resolution to rows over its constitution.

Opening the conference the previous evening in Kiev, Yushchenko acknowledged stability was crucial for progress.

''... No one will help us but ourselves. We have to eliminate thorny issues which not only discredit our policies, but reduce our chances for integration,'' he said.

''The road to Europe is not a mere walk in the park. It is responsibility ... And the path is not just coated in sugar.'' Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the president's few allies in the cabinet, told participants Ukraine was looking for a signal from the EU that it could one day join.

''What we need from the new agreement is a positive sign or a suggestion somewhere, somehow of full-fledged EU membership,'' he said. ''We shall join the EU, the only question is when.'' Reuters KK VP0420