Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is heading next week for a five-day trip to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
The State Department said Clinton will leave July 1 for Kiev, Ukraine, where she is to meet with President Viktor Yanukovych and participate in the session of the U.S.-Ukraine strategic partnership commission. As Assistant Secretary Philip Gordon said yesterday, at the meetings in Ukraine, Mrs. Clinton will discuss issues of economic, energy, security and democracy with Ukrainian leader. Mrs. Clinton will also meet witg former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Timoshenko, local media and NGO sector.
Clinton then will head to Krakow, Poland for a ceremony before visiting the capitals of Azerbaijan, Armenia. The United States and other countries have been pushing for a resolution on disputed territory in Azerbaijan under Armenian control.
Clinton will visit Georgia on July 5.