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NATO pushed Ukraine to shelve non-aligned status: Russia

Iran Press TV

Wed Dec 24, 2014 4:21PM GMT

A Russian deputy defense minister has accused members of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of pushing crisis-hit Ukraine to drop its non-aligned status and seek membership in the military alliance.

Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday that unidentified NATO members compelled Ukraine to make the move in a bid to turn it into a 'forward line for confronting Russia.'

'Under the slogan of a 'Russian threat,' NATO is expanding its military potential in the Baltics, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania,' he said, noting that NATO has doubled the number of its military flights near Russia's borders to about 3,000 this year.

The top Russian military figure said Moscow is particularly concerned about pilots from non-nuclear NATO members, like Poland, being trained for nuclear missions.

On December 23, Ukrainian parliament voted to drop the country's non-aligned status with a majority of 303 votes against 8.

The bill was submitted by President Petro Poroshenko, who has promised to hold a referendum on NATO membership.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to the Kiev parliament's vote by calling it "counterproductive," adding that such moves only increase tensions between the two nations.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev started military operation in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

The West accuses Moscow of supporting the pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine, saying the Russian intervention poses a security threat to Ukraine and all other neighboring states. Russia has strongly denied the allegation.

MP/HMV/SS