Ukraine says foreign policy goal now is Nato membership in move sure to anger Russia

Ukraine’s parliament set Nato membership as a key foreign-policy goal, replacing the non-aligned status adopted by ousted Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in a move that’s likely to further sour relations with Russia.

A bill submitted by the ruling coalition was backed by 276 lawmakers in the 450-seat legislature Thursday in Kiev, the capital. President Petro Poroshenko wants to meet Nato entry requirements by 2020 and has promised to hold a referendum on joining.

The former Soviet republic sees Nato as a security guarantee after a second pro-European revolution in a decade poisoned ties with Russia, which later annexed Crimea and backed an insurgency across its neighbour’s border. Ukraine has also signed an Association Agreement with the European Union, though has no formal path to joining the world’s biggest trading bloc. Russia has opposed the two organisations’ eastward expansion.

“Russian aggression against Ukraine and the annexation of Ukrainian territory have set an urgent task for Ukraine to ensure real national security,” the authors of the legislation said. “The most effective tool for the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty is collective security, the most effective of which is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.”