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Ukraine's stated national policy is Euro-Atlantic integration, with the European Union. Ukraine has a "Distinctive Partnership" with NATO and has been an active participant in Partnership for Peace exercises and in peacekeeping in the Balkans. This close relationship with NATO has been most apparent in Ukrainian cooperation and combined peacekeeping operation with its neighbor Poland, in Kosovo. Ukrainian serviceman also serve under NATO command in Iraq, Afghanistan and in Operation Active Endeavour. Current Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych considers the current level of co-operation between Ukraine and NATO sufficient. His predecessor Viktor Yushchenko had asked for Ukrainian membership early 2008. During the 2008 Bucharest summit NATO declared that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, whenever it wants and when it would correspond the criteria for the accession. Ukrainian President Yanukovych opted to keep Ukraine a non-aligned state. This materialized on June 3, 2010 when the Ukrainian parliament excluded, with 226 votes, the goal of "integration into Euro-Atlantic security and NATO membership" from the country's national security strategy. The current Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is Colonel General Hryhorii Pedchenko. Military units of other states participate in multinational military exercises with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine regularly, including U.S. military forces. Many of these exercises are held under the NATO co-operation programme Partnership for Peace. |