Activists protest against NATO expansion. The slogan reads: "Stop NATO!"
Photo: Sergey Kiselev
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Kharkov Region Declared No-NATO Status
The Kharkov District Council declared June 11 that the regulations aimed at Ukraine’s integration into NATO will no longer extend to the region, Ukrainian News reported. The local lawmakers addressed Ukraine’s parliament, Supreme Rada, seeking to legalize neutrality of Ukraine.
The actions of Ukrainian leadership aimed at joining NATO contradict the will of the nation and threaten Ukraine’s independence, the masterminds of the resolution said. Kharkov District Council called on all residents of the region not to violate but secure the off-bloc and neutral status of Ukraine in their relations with NATO representatives.
Kharkov is one of the biggest industrial cities of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s constitution spells out no ban on entering any military blocs. The basic law of that country only prohibits stationing any foreign military bases on the soil of Ukraine.
Local authorities had already assigned the status of “no-NATO territory” to a few of cities in Ukraine, including Donetsk, Sevastopol and Feodosiya.
Similar to Georgia, Ukraine had hoped to be granted NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) during the April summit of alliance held in Bucharest. But NATO shelved the issue till the end of 2008.
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