Ukraine's leader wants NATO membership

Speaking at a Ukrainian security council meeting attended by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Poroshenko (pictured above, r.) said the previous Kyiv administration had not acted in the interests of the country by staying out of the military alliance.

"The decision on the non-alliance policy which was announced by the previous government is criminal in terms of the security and strategic interests of our state," Poroshenko said.

He cited an opinion poll showing 60 percent of Ukrainians in favor of potentially joining the military bloc.

Ukraine 'not yet ready'

The figure represents a major turnaround, with a majority of Ukrainians opposing NATO membership up until the February 2014 uprising that toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and an ensuing pro-Russian rebellion in the east of the country, in which more than 8,000 people have died.

Many in the former Soviet Republic now see the alliance as the best way to counter any foreign military threat.

NATO has so far blocked Ukraine's bid for membership, saying the country needed to first implement a range of political, economic, social and military reforms before it could be considered. The alliance has also declined the country's request for offensive weapons to use in its fight against the separatist rebels.

Continued NATO support

But Stoltenberg (l. above), on his first trip to the country, pledged further NATO aid to Ukraine, saying it provided the country "with political and practical support."

He also lauded the government in Kyiv for keeping to the Minsk ceasefire agreements, with fighting in the east dropping to nearly its lowest level since the conflict began after a renewed truce took effect on September 1.

Stoltenberg's visit comes almost two weeks ahead of a Paris summit where the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France are to discuss political ways out of the conflict.

Any move by Ukraine to attain NATO membership would anger Moscow, which feels that the organization has undertaken growing measures to hem Russia in since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

NATO has increased its activities in eastern Europe, shifting troops and equipment about in former communist states in the face of what many see as continued Russian expansionism.

tj/msh (AP, AFP)