Ukraine Formally Announces That It Will Not Join NATO

Ukraine Ditches NATO goal -- Reuters

Ukraine's new president, accused by opponents of moving the country into Moscow's orbit, outlined a foreign policy bill on Tuesday that ditches his predecessor's aim to join NATO but keeps EU membership as a long-term goal.

President Viktor Yanukovich's draft foreign policy law would commit Ukraine to "a non-bloc policy which means not participating in military-political alliances," a clear effort to show he is trying to steer between East and West.

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More News on Ukraine's Decision To Pursue A Non-Aligned Status

Parliament cements Ukraine's nonaligned status -- Journal Times
The road to NATO is closed for Ukrainian -- Ukraine Globalist
Lawmakers approve bill to enshrine Ukraine's nonaligned status into law -- Canadian Press
Ukrainian Lawmakers Abandon NATO Membership Target -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Parliament cements Ukraine's nonaligned status -- San Francisco Chronicle/AP

Ukraine Will No Longer Seek NATO Membership

Ukraine Drops Nato Membership Pursuit -- The Telegraph

Ukraine formally stopped pursuing NATO membership as an aim, with its foreign minister declaring the issue had been taken off the policy agenda.

Membership of the U.S.-led military alliance was ardently pursued by the pro-Western ex-president Viktor Yushchenko, despite widespread indifference in the country and lack of encouragement from the alliance itself.

But under the new leaderhip of Viktor Yanukovich, who came to power in February and has tilted the ex-Soviet republic back towards Moscow in several areas of policy, has made clear NATO membership was being pushed on to the back burner as an objective.

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My Comment: Elections have consequences .... dropping its membership with NATO is one of them.

Confirmed: Ukraine Will Not Join NATO

Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich chairs the National Security and Defence Council in Kiev April 6, 2010. Yanukovich has scrapped a state body set up to oversee the country's eventual accession to NATO, a presidential decree on his website said Tuesday. Andriy Mosienko/REUTERS/Pool

Yanukovich kills Ukraine's Bid To Join NATO -- Christian Science Monitor

Russia-leaning president Viktor Yanukovich has scrapped Ukraine's plans to join the Western military alliance, dissolving the commissions on European and NATO integration established after the Orange Revolution.

Ukraine's once deeply controversial bid to join NATO appears to have died a little-noticed bureaucratic death this week, as incoming President Viktor Yanukovich moved to abolish a commission that had been overseeing the country's preparations for eventual entry into the Western military alliance.

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More News On Ukraine's Decision To Not Join NATO

Ukraine shelves NATO membership plan -- UPI
Ukraine's Yanukovich Scraps NATO Body -- New York Times/Reuters
Ukraine scraps NATO accession plans -- Deutsche Welle
Ukraine Government Scraps Plans To Join NATO -- RTT News
Yanukovych Scraps NATO Body -- Moscow Times