Diplomatic Activities of the UPR: 1917-1919

Abstract

Ukrainian People’s Republic, starting with its proclamation by the Third Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada, and during the Hetmanate and the UPR Directory, to enter into interstate relations, achieve international legal recognition of Ukrainian statehood, and receive support in the fight against external aggression on the eve of and at the beginning of the Paris Peace Conference.

The authors analyze the negotiation process and the vision of the Ukrainian issue by the Central Powers and Entente at the end of the First World War, as well as the problematic aspects of Ukrainian-Entente relations as a result of Ukraine’s peace agreement with Germany and its allies in 1918 and attempts to resolve them.

The influence of the uprising and the Directory’s victory on Ukraine’s perception by the Entente leaders as a pro-Bolshevik state, despite its war with the latter, is revealed. The preconditions and platform for possible understanding between the Ukrainian state and the Entente countries, particularly France and Great Britain, are identified.

The authors characterize the activities of the Ukrainian delegation in Paris during the Peace Conference. It is established that despite a certain Ukrainian lobby in France, Ukrainian diplomats failed to reach an understanding with the French government and establish a positive dialogue with it. 

It is concluded that the Directorate’s negotiating position directly depended on the situation on the Ukrainian-Bolshevik front. The Directorate did not consider the importance of clearly defining foreign policy priorities and establishing timely direct relations with the victorious states.