Donetsk Republic Vows Response if Kiev Starts Preparations to Join NATO

© Sputnik / Stringer / Go to the mediabankNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (at the left) and the president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at a press conference in the International center of peacemaking and safety on the Yavorivsky ground
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (at the left) and the president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at a press conference in the International center of peacemaking and safety on the Yavorivsky ground - Sputnik International
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The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) will back out of the Minsk agreements if Kiev begins procedures to join NATO, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said Wednesday.

DONETSK (Sputnik) – The DPR leader added that Kiev's renewed push to put Ukraine on the path toward NATO membership was directed at destroying the Minsk agreements.

“[Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko and his representative at the Minsk reconciliation talks [former Ukrainian President Leonid] Kuchma’s statement that Ukraine needs to join NATO is directed at destroying the Minsk agreements. If Ukraine begins preparing a referendum on joining NATO or any other procedure, then the DPR will immediately back out of the Minsk agreements and begin to cleanse the Kiev-occupied territories of Donbass,” Zakharchenko was quoted as saying by the Donetsk News Agency.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (R) welcomes NATO's General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg (L) during the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev on September 22, 2015 - Sputnik International
Ukraine, NATO Sign Joint Declaration to Boost Cooperation
On Tuesday, Ukraine and NATO signed a joint declaration to intensify military technical cooperation.

President Poroshenko said earlier he would initiate the process of joining the US-led military bloc if the move was backed by a majority vote, and as soon as the country implemented all necessary reforms. Ukraine dropped its non-aligned status last year, opening the way for NATO membership and drawing criticism from Russia and many other states.

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