Verkhovna Rada deputy, chairman of the parliamentary committee on European integration Borys Tarasiuk of the Our Ukraine People's Self-Defense Bloc faction does not think that the stationing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea will impede Ukraine's admission to NATO.
He said this in his interview with the Kommersant newspaper (Russia).
"There is an official statement by NATO that a temporary stay of the Black Sea Fleet in the territory of Ukraine cannot be an obstacle to its accession to the Alliance. Black Sea Fleet is a bilateral issue, that is to say it has nothing to do with NATO," he said.
The lawmaker noted here that he is surprised to hear dissatisfaction of Russia with Ukraine's intention to join NATO.
"I cannot understand why the Russians acknowledge that every state has a right to choose a system of collective security on the one hand, and on the other hand, they are so pointed to react to the choice of Ukraine. This is connected with an attempt to intimidate the Ukrainians, to give a signal to the NATO countries that Russia is dissatisfied and thereby give an argument to those who have doubts," he said in his assessment of the causes of recent activation of aggressive statements on the part of Russia.
Tarasiuk noted that he expects a change in the policy and attitude of Russia toward the aspiration of Ukraine to enter the Alliance following the election of the new President of Russia.
He expressed hope that Ukrainian-Russian relations will not get worse after Ukraine enters this organization.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Tarasiuk said he might initiate early withdrawal of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from Crimea if Russia continues making anti-Ukrainian statements.
On April 3, the participants of the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, postponed the issue of Ukraine's accession to the NATO Membership Action Plan until December.
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