Updated on 04:08 p.m. Moscow Time
KIEV, September 7 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s advisor Yuri Lutsenko believes that Kiev needs to establish a non-NATO military alliance with the United States.
"The ongoing task is to find allies, therefore, the EU association agreement should be complemented by a clear membership perspective and a non-NATO alliance agreement with the United States," Lutsenko wrote via Facebook.
Earlier, the Ukrainian government approved a draft law abolishing the non-aligned status of the country, a step towards joining NATO. While Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk claimed Kiev was trying to "get a special status between Ukraine and NATO," diplomats said Ukraine's accession to NATO was not on the summit’s agenda.
Ukraine has been engulfed in violent internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev began its military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country. According to United Nations’ estimates, over 2,500 people have been killed and more than 6,000 wounded since the start of the offensive.
Kiev and Western countries are accusing Russia of interfering in the Ukraine’s domestic conflict while Moscow has repeatedly rejected such accusations. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that before blaming Russia, it is necessary to present real evidence that Moscow allegedly interfered in the situation in Ukraine. Reports blaming Russian forces for intervening in the situation in Ukraine have not been confirmed.
