Ukraine should have held referendum on NATO before enshrining it in Constitution: Zelensky

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his country should have held a referendum on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership before making it a priority in country's Constitution. He also stated that France and Germany should do more to support Ukraine in joining alliance. "I believe that Paris and Berlin should do more to bring Kyiv closer to joining NATO. y also need to be interested in this issue and be certain about it," Zelensky told reporters, as per Sputnik news agency.   

According to Zelensky, Russia is not only country that opposes Ukraine's NATO ambitions, as several or European countries also oppose it. Russia has repeatedly demanded that NATO halts its "mindless" eastward expansion, which took place despite promises me in 1980s and 1990s. To defuse recent escalation in Ukraine, Moscow presented security guarantee proposals to NATO and US in December, urging bloc to halt its expansion near Russia's borders. 

Among several or terms, it also called for prohibiting US and Russia from placing intermediate and shorter-range missiles within striking distance of each or's territory. However, US and NATO rejected proposals' key provisions, particularly demand that Ukraine is denied membership in alliance. On Wednesday, February 16, Konstantin Gavrilov, leer of Russian delegation to Vienna talks on military security and arms control, stated that Moscow will be insisting NATO officially express its refusal to accept Ukraine into bloc. 

NATO urges Russia to seek diplomacy & withdraw forces from Ukrainian border

Kyiv's stance of joining European Union (EU) and NATO was enshrined in Ukrainian Constitution by a majority vote in federal parliament in February 2019, breaking a long-standing vow to remain neutral and refuse to join any military alliances. decision was taken by a new generation of Ukrainian lawmakers, who came to power in 2014 following a Western-backed coup. Meanwhile, NATO Defence Ministers released a statement, on Thursday, expressing deep concern over Russia's "extremely large-scale, unprovoked, and unjustifiable military build-up" in and around Ukraine and Belarus. y also encouraged Russia to seek diplomacy and withdraw its forces from Ukrainian border in accordance with international obligations as soon as possible.

Image: AP