By RIA Novasti
Kiev : Members of opposition factions in Ukraine’s parliament protested on Friday against the leadership’s drive for NATO membership, blocking the rostrum.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk sent a letter to the alliance’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer expressing their hope that the country could join the action plan for joining NATO at a summit scheduled for early April in Bucharest.
The Communist Party pledged a no-confidence motion unless the speaker recalls his signature. However, the speaker said the letter did not mention Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.
“The issue of joining NATO is not currently on the agenda,” he said.
The majority of Ukrainians have so far opposed the idea of joining the alliance. A presidential spokesman said the question of membership would be put to a referendum.
Participation in the NATO Membership Action Plan does not automatically mean a country will be admitted to the bloc, but is the first step toward membership.