Ukraine Restores NATO Membership as Key Foreign Policy Goal
- Lawmakers remove ex-Soviet republic’s non-aligned status
- Step is likely to further taint relations with Russia
Petro Poroshenko, president of Ukraine, speaks in Tokyo on April 6, 2016.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Ukraine’s parliament set NATO membership as a key foreign-policy goal, replacing the non-aligned status adopted by ousted Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in a move that’s likely to further sour relations with Russia.
A bill submitted by the ruling coalition was backed by 276 lawmakers in the 450-seat legislature Thursday in Kiev, the capital. President Petro Poroshenko wants to meet NATO entry requirements by 2020 and has promised to hold a referendum on joining.