KIEV
The Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has said Thursday that the issue of the country's NATO membership will be decided by referendum.
During an official visit in Paris, France, Poroshenko said NATO membership was one of the “fundamental issues” for Ukraine.
“I will carry that issue to a referendum, and Ukrainian people will decide,” he said.
Poroshenko said he was aware that his country had to fulfill certain conditions to be part of the military alliance.
“We have worked hard to strengthen and modernize our military forces,” Poroshenko said, adding that Ukraine now had the experience of defending its territory.
Poroshenko added that the conflict in eastern Ukraine against pro-Russian separatists threatened the security of the entire European continent.
Ukraine’s neighbor Russia strongly opposes Kiev's NATO membership. Kiev and Western countries regularly accuse Moscow of arming the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Since April 2014, more than 6,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, according to the United Nations.
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