Using a news conference to sign the legislation, which parliament had adopted last week, Petro Poroshenko vowed to reform Ukraine’s economy and military forces to meet European Union and NATO standards.
While public support for joining the alliance has swelled after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March and a pro-Russia insurgency in eastern Ukraine, prospects for NATO membership in the near term appear dim.
Representatives of Ukraine and the rebels agreed on a cease-fire in September, but it has been frequently violated as the parties have failed to reach a deal on a line of division to create a buffer …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle