Ukraine to hold referendum on joining NATO
Updated: 2014-11-25 09:06
(Xinhua)
|
|||||||||||
KIEV - President Petro Poroshenko said here Monday a referendum will be held to decide whether or not Ukraine should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"Only the people of Ukraine will decide whether to join NATO or not during a referendum," Poroshenko said at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.
Ukrainian authorities have been working out certain criteria, which the country should meet within the coming years to obtain NATO membership, Poroshenko said, who nevertheless insisted that the attempt to join the alliance now "will bring more harm than advantages."
Ukraine and NATO established their partnership in 1991, shortly after Kiev gained its independence from the former Soviet Union. Ukraine closely cooperates with the alliance and actively participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace Program.
In March 2010, the Ukrainian parliament approved a law which bars the country's membership in any military blocs but allows cooperation.
Amid a crisis in eastern Ukraine, where government troops had been fighting against independence-seeking insurgents, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has called on the parliament to promptly pass a bill on the abolishment of the nonaligned status of Ukraine to pave the way for the restoration of the country's course towards NATO membership.
Today's Top News
Sanctions, falling oil price cost Russia $140b yearly
Ukraine to hold referendum on joining NATO
UN calls for more sex ed in country
PBOC surprise powers equities
Chinese FM visits Vienna for Iranian nuclear issue
80% of China's rich aspire to overseas education
5 dead, 54 injured in Southwest China quake
Gay-dating app finds financial boost
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
Blue skies ready to greet APEC |
Growth pangs |
Sea change |
'Old newcomers' |
General aviation hub reaches for the sky |
Endangered species threatens livelihoods |