Ukraine Aims To Join NATO in 2008
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Wed, 1 Feb 2006, 11:33

Ukraine hopes to join the North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO) at a summit in 2008, the ex-Soviet nation’s deputy foreign minister said Wednesday, quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.

”Our aim is the summit on enlargement in 2008. In that year a new wave of NATO enlargement is expected. Of course, we would like this wave to bring U.S. into the organization,” Volodymyr Khandogiy said.

A meeting of Ukrainian and NATO officials in Sofia in April could be used to decide on Ukraine joining the alliance’s Membership Action Plan, a formal precursor to membership, Khandogiy said.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko ordered the creation of a formal body for preparing for NATO membership in December, amid deteriorating relations with Moscow.

Yushchenko signaled he wanted to break with Moscow and integrate with NATO and the European Union during the “orange revolution” that swept him to power last year. Polls suggest only patchy support for such a move among the country’s 47 million people.

The current members of the Membership Action Plan are Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.