NATO won’t interfere into withdrawal of the RF Black Sea Fleet from Ukrainian Crimea, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer made clear in the interview.
Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov
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NATO Not to Meddle in the Black Sea Fleet Withdrawal
NATO won’t interfere into withdrawal of the RF Black Sea Fleet that may station in Ukraine until 2017 under the agreement of Kiev and Moscow, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer made clear in the interview with Inter TV Channel of Ukraine.
Russia’s-Ukrainian agreement on the RF Black Sea Fleet expires in 2017, and the RF Foreign Ministry is yet reluctant to negotiate on pulling out the fleet from Sevastopol.
The withdrawal of that fleet isn’t the dispute in which NATO would like to interfere, Scheffer said, pointing out that Moscow and Kiev should sort out the issue themselves.
At the same time, Scheffer emphasized that the decision on NATO’s membership is for the nation of Ukraine.
In today’s Ukraine, joining NATO and the EU is one of the strategic aims. But the allies rejected the country’s application for the Membership Action Plan during their summit in Bucharest April 3 and 4, shelving the issue till this December. In April, only a third of Ukrainians backed up that membership, while more than a half of the nation opposed it.
Russia is the most uncompromising opponent of eastward expansion of NATO, viewing it as a serious threat to the country’s security.
www.kommersant.com
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