LUXEMBURG, April 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Czech Republic sees NATO military involvement in resolving the crisis in Ukraine as an impossibility, the country's minister of defense said Tuesday.
"I don't think that it's a way to find a solution," Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky said, after being asked what he thinks about possible NATO military intervention in Ukraine.
Northern and Southern European countries have different views on the Ukrainian crisis, the Czech politician said, speaking before a meeting of EU defense ministers.
"The position [on Ukraine] should be unified but ... the North and the South of Europe have different notions of the crisis," he said.
"We urge the EU to be firm," he added.
NATO is not discussing a military response to the situation in Ukraine and is counting on a political and diplomatic resolution, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday.
Rallies in support of federalization have been rocking the country since last month, with activists in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv occupying regional government buildings to put pressure on the country's new regime.
In February, the Ukrainian parliament backed by far-right movements ousted from power President Viktor Yanukovych, amended the constitution and scheduled an early presidential election for May 25.
Russia has described the uprising in Kiev as an illegitimate fascist coup and a military seizure of power that resulted in Moscow taking steps to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine and reunify with Crimea following a referendum in the region.
The steps were heavily criticized by the US and EU, who imposed targeted sanctions against several Russian officials and suspended cooperation in certain areas.
On April 1, NATO ended all practical cooperation with Russia. The foreign ministers of NATO members are to review relations with Moscow at their next meeting in June.
