Ukraine lawmakers aim to pass law prohibiting membership in military alliances such as NATO
By APTuesday, March 16, 2010
Ukraine to pass law scrapping NATO ambitions
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s new governing coalition in parliament says it will pass a law preventing the country from joining any military alliances, including NATO.
The coalition supporting newly elected President Viktor Yanukovych says in a formal statement of intent released Tuesday that the legislation will “enshrine Ukraine’s nonaligned status in law.”
The move would help the Russia-friendly Yanukovych fulfill his campaign promise to prevent Ukraine’s NATO membership.
His predecessor, the staunchly pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko, had struggled to gain NATO membership, infuriating Moscow in the process.
Russia, keen to restore its Soviet-era influence over Ukraine and other former Soviet states, is fiercely averse to NATO’s eastward expansion.
