After a session of the Ukraine-NATO commission in Brussels Thursday, Yanukovych proposed that the ex-Soviet country should not push for entry to the international security organization, saying the majority of Ukrainians oppose the idea. The prime minister, appointed last month, said the issue would have to be put to a referendum.
The pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc accused the premier of breaching agreements set out by the national unity pact on Ukraine's NATO membership drive.
But the Supreme Rada supported Yanukovych's stance in a resolution passed by 242 votes in the 450-seat legislature.
The document said, "Ukraine's further moves toward NATO membership should be made only by taking the will of the Ukrainian people into account."
Parliament directed the country's government to "promote the distribution of objective information on NATO's role in the modern world, and on the direction of reforms, as a key to raising public awareness."
Yanukovych said earlier that a referendum on the issue would only be held when the time is right, namely after a number of social and economic reforms are implemented. Until then, he said, Ukraine should cooperate with NATO, but not seek membership.
Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko has made NATO membership a priority since coming to power in 2004, but has met with strong opposition on the issue from pro-Russian forces in the country.
The policy on pursuing NATO membership was fixed in the national unity pact. The document, which Yushchenko proposed for signing by the country's major political forces, was to serve as a guarantee of adherence to his main political objectives before Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, was appointed prime minister to end four months of political crisis in the country.
"Our Ukraine views Yanukovych's statement in Brussels that our country is not ready to implement the plan to join NATO as a direct violation of political agreements set out in the national unity pact," the bloc's press service said.
Ukraine's quest for NATO membership is a concern for Russia, which opposes the approach of NATO bases closer to its borders.
