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| Ukraine votes to drop non-aligned status | Ukraine votes to drop non-aligned status |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ukraine's parliament has voted to drop the country's non-aligned status and work towards Nato membership. | Ukraine's parliament has voted to drop the country's non-aligned status and work towards Nato membership. |
| Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the move "counterproductive" and said it would boost tensions. | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the move "counterproductive" and said it would boost tensions. |
| The BBC's David Stern in Kiev says it is not clear when Ukraine will apply for Nato membership and many officials see it as a distant prospect. | The BBC's David Stern in Kiev says it is not clear when Ukraine will apply for Nato membership and many officials see it as a distant prospect. |
| Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pledged to seek Nato membership over Russian support for rebels in the east. | Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pledged to seek Nato membership over Russian support for rebels in the east. |
| Russia, which annexed the Crimean peninsula in March, denies supplying the rebels with weapons. However, it is subject to EU and US sanctions over the crisis. | Russia, which annexed the Crimean peninsula in March, denies supplying the rebels with weapons. However, it is subject to EU and US sanctions over the crisis. |
| In a vote in Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday, MPs overwhelmingly backed the move by 303 to eight. | In a vote in Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday, MPs overwhelmingly backed the move by 303 to eight. |
| Speaking before the vote, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Ukraine was determined to pivot towards Europe and the West. | |
| "This will lead to integration in the European and the Euro-Atlantic space," he said. | |
| The non-aligned status, which Ukraine adopted in 2010 under Russian pressure, prevents states from joining military alliances. | The non-aligned status, which Ukraine adopted in 2010 under Russian pressure, prevents states from joining military alliances. |
| Addressing foreign ambassadors on Monday night, President Poroshenko said Ukraine's "fight for its independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty has turned into a decisive factor in our relations with the world". | Addressing foreign ambassadors on Monday night, President Poroshenko said Ukraine's "fight for its independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty has turned into a decisive factor in our relations with the world". |
| Russia has made no secret that it opposes Ukraine's move towards Nato. | Russia has made no secret that it opposes Ukraine's move towards Nato. |
| Andrei Kelin, Russia's envoy to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said on Tuesday: "It's an unfriendly step towards us. This political vector will only add to nuisances and acuteness in ties." | |
| Fragile ceasefire | |
| In a Facebook post on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that Ukraine's rejection of neutrality would have "negative consequences". | In a Facebook post on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that Ukraine's rejection of neutrality would have "negative consequences". |
| "In essence, an application for Nato membership will turn Ukraine into a potential military opponent for Russia," he wrote. | "In essence, an application for Nato membership will turn Ukraine into a potential military opponent for Russia," he wrote. |
| A Nato spokesman in Brussels said on Tuesday that any accession to the alliance would probably take years, Reuters reported. | A Nato spokesman in Brussels said on Tuesday that any accession to the alliance would probably take years, Reuters reported. |
| Some Nato members are also lukewarm towards accepting Ukraine, our correspondent says. | Some Nato members are also lukewarm towards accepting Ukraine, our correspondent says. |
| The roots of the current conflict go back to Ukraine's pro-EU street protests at the end of last year that led to the fall of Russian-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych in February. | |
| After Crimea was annexed, pro-Russian separatists seized parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine and later declared independence. | |
| Since then, nearly 5,000 people have died and another million have been displaced by fighting. | |
| A ceasefire was signed by both sides in Minsk in September but observers says some fighting is continuing. |