Xinhua News Agency
December 24, 2014
Spotlight: Scrapping non-aligned status paves Ukraine’s way to NATO, fuels Russia’s wrath
KIEV: The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to abandon its non-aligned status, paving the way for a bid to join NATO and also arousing Moscow’s anger as it threatens Russia’s security interests.
With at least 226 votes needed to approve the bill, 303 Ukrainian lawmakers supported the legislation, the parliament’s press service said.
The bill, submitted to the parliament by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, said the non-aligned status, declared in 2010, “proved to be ineffective in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security and protecting the country from external aggression and pressure.”
The new law envisages that Kiev is heading for deepening cooperation with NATO “in order to achieve the criteria which are required for membership in the alliance.”
Addressing deputies in Kiev before the vote, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said the move underscored the country’s determination to pivot towards Europe and the West.
Although the move doesn’t mean that Ukraine would join NATO soon, Klimkin said the law would open up new mechanisms “in the conditions of the current aggression against Ukraine.”
The approval of the bill immediately angered Russia, which considers Kiev’s NATO bid as provocation and views the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to its national security.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Ukraine’s “counterproductive” decision which “only ignites confrontation.”
Actually, Russia’s first official response came from Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who wrote on his Facebook late Monday night that Kiev’s decision made Ukraine Russia’s potential military adversary.
“Ukrainian president has submitted a bill to Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) canceling Ukraine’s non-aligned status. Essentially, this is a bid to join NATO, which makes Ukraine Russia’s potential military adversary,” according to Medvedev.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov claimed that even words in regard to Ukraine joining NATO would directly harm pan-European security and undermines its basic principles, let alone any actual actions taken by the Ukrainian side.
Meanwhile, more Russian senior diplomats slammed Ukraine’s Tuesday decision, saying the “big mistake” would lead to instability in the region.
Ukraine tried to apply for NATO membership back in 2008, but NATO decided not to offer Ukraine a Membership Action Plan, an essential step before membership.
Recently, Ukraine has sought to strengthen its partnership with NATO. Meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk earlier in December, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged “ongoing political and practical support” to Ukraine.
Stoltenberg said that five trust funds created by NATO to help Ukraine improve its own security are now up and running.
However, Ukraine’s abolishment of non-aligned status is only the first step on the long road toward NATO membership. As President Poroshenko expected, it will take at least six years for his country to meet the criteria required for a membership in the bloc.
From this point of view, Ukraine’s prospects for NATO membership in the near term appear dim. But analysts say that if the Ukrainian side insists on joining NATO without taking Russia’s interests into consideration, ties between Moscow and Kiev would also be affected severely, which is adverse to resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine as well.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin has warned that Ukraine’s dropping non-aligned status was a serious political mistake that could have dire consequences for the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
“The priority for Ukraine is stability, especially in the east, and restoration of the country’s sovereignty. Only then can we take course toward deepening partnership with NATO,” said Sergey Solodky, an analyst at the Institute of Global Policy.
Thus, analysts believe that Ukraine’s abolishment of non-aligned status is a political stunt to court NATO and threaten Russia.
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