Ukraine says referendum on NATO membership would be premature
13/04/2006 16:23
KIEV, April 13 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Thursday it was too early to talk of holding a referendum on joining NATO.
The ministry cited opinion surveys in January that showed only 19.2% of respondents approved of the idea of accession to the alliance.
"Holding a referendum today would be premature, as the results would reflect Ukrainians' unawareness, rather than their opinion," the ministry said, adding that Ukraine's course toward joining NATO was in line with current national legislation and the country's Constitution.
55% of respondents in the survey said Ukraine should not join, and 25.8% said they did not know.
Earlier, officials had said the former Soviet republic might join NATO in 2008-2010.
"The defense ministry says the Ukrainian army will meet NATO criteria in 2008," Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said in late March. "A summit of the alliance will also be held in 2008, and ... it may consider the issue of Ukraine's membership in the organization."
As well as with NATO membership, Ukraine is seeking to join the World Trade Organization and the European Union. President Viktor Yushchenko said these objectives were foreign policy priorities for his government.
In early April, the European Parliament adopted a decision to start talks on Ukraine being given the status of an associate member. Yushchenko said Ukraine would now focus on the three-year harmonization action plan it had signed with the EU in February 2005.
Tarasyuk said late last year that Ukraine could join the EU by 2015.
Ukraine is also at an advanced stage in accession negotiations with the world's largest trade body. The EU declared Ukraine a market economy in late 2005, and the U.S. followed suit in February 2006.
The country's March 26 parliamentary election, however, showed that the nation is divided over moving toward the West and alienating Russia. After a year of the new West-leaning government in power, the Party of Regions that mainly represents the industrial and pro-Russian east of the country, came out on top of the election with 31.14%.
