elect by telephone and Yushchenko responded by describing the countries as "strategic partners". Yushchenko quickly embarks on trips to opposite ends of Europe to build links to help Ukraine join key institutions. On Monday, he fulfils a promise to make Moscow his first foreign destination by meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. His programme next week includes visits to the Council of Europe, a major rights body, the European Parliament, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and commemorations in Poland of the Soviet army's liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. On Friday, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana held out the prospect of eventual Ukrainian membership. --SP 2024 Local Time 1724 GMT
