It is not too hard to predict the main negative trends in Russia-Ukraine relations in the nearest future — the "postponed issue" of Crimea, the smouldering conflict in Donbas, conservation of "frozen" political and diplomatic relations, further reduction of the volume of trade, limited contacts in all areas, energy conflict, informational confrontation, war in cyberspace, bringing the conflict to international courts. In other words, Kyiv-Moscow relations have not reached the rock bottom yet.

In the years of war, numerous regulations have been adopted in one way or the other related to Russian aggression. However, the question of what Ukraine’s strategy should be in regard to Russia remains open.

Codification, or, simply speaking, harmonisation of regulations, and based on them, development of a midterm Concept of Relations with Russia, are imperative. This concept should define the current state and prognosis for the bilateral relations, goals, tasks, and mid-term prospects of Ukrainian policy in regard to Russia, standards and rules for relations with the aggressor in all areas — political and diplomatic, financial and economic, energy, science and technology sector, humanitarian relations, etc., conditions and possible mechanisms for the settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in general. The Razumkov Centre has presented a draft of such Concept back in 2015, and, obviously, the development of such document is the responsibility of NSDC of Ukraine.

But, first, we need a new law on foreign policy of Ukraine — the existing one is outdated and does not to conform to current events.