From the very beginning, Ukraine’s post-Soviet nation-building journey has been defined by competition between rival narratives that have sought to place the country within Russia itself. Conversely, the Western world has never quite managed to make up its mind about Ukraine and has generally adopted a cautious approach.

The government's 20/20 programme called for increasing Ukrgazvydobuvannya's gas production to 20 bcm by 2020, but the goal was not achieved.

Havard-educated Sandu won last year’s presidential election by a landslide against Socialist Igor Dodon – widely viewed as Russia’s man in the country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania.

The countries agreed to encourage cooperation between companies and financial institutions in major construction projects and for governments to provide assistance where required.