PM: Ukraine wants to seek NATO membership

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Friday that his government is seeking to join NATO and is submitting a bill to parliament to end the country's official "non-bloc" policy.

"The government is entering a bill to the Supreme Council (parliament) about the cancellation of Ukraine's non-bloc status and resumption of Ukraine's course for NATO membership," he said.

Yatsenyuk urged the parliament to hold consultations over the bill "without delay" .

The bill would prevent Ukraine from making a decision on membership in "any other economic, political, or other unions" that would keep the country from eventually joining the European Union, he said.

"The adoption of this law would mean that Ukraine would be forbidden from membership in the Customs Union, as well as the Eurasian Union, or any other unions that are in essence nothing other than Russia's Soviet Union."

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would fully respect any decision made by the Ukrainian parliament to abandon Ukraine's nonaligned status and seek NATO membership.

NATO denied Ukraine a fast track toward membership in 2008 when a previous pro-European government in Kiev tried to pursue closer ties with the alliance.

Ukraine and NATO established their partnership in 1991, shortly after Kiev gained its independence from the Soviet Union. Although Ukraine is not a member of NATO, is closely cooperates with the 28-nation alliance, actively participating in Partnership for Peace initiatives.

Earlier this week, Yatsenyuk asked NATO for "practical help" as Kiev's army is fighting an insurgency in east Ukraine and accusing Russia of sending regular army contingents that have seized key towns. Russia denied the accusation.

AFP - Reuters - Xinhua