Kiev's Drive to Join NATO Hinders Political Resolution of Ukraine Crisis

Donbass residents support Ukraine should maintain its status as a neutral state, and should not join either the European Union or NATO, according to Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

DONETSK (Sputnik) — Kiev's determination and active efforts to join NATO puts off the prospect of the political settlement of the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said Friday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier on Friday signed a law on the ratification of an agreement on founding a NATO diplomatic mission in Ukraine.

"I've said on numerous occasions that the more intense is Ukraine's drive to join NATO, the farther away we are from the political settlement in Donbass," Alexander Zakharchenko said.

According to Zakharchenko, Donbass residents support Ukraine should maintain its status as a neutral state, and should not join either the European Union or NATO.

"The only position that Donbass can have in the issue of relations between Ukraine and NATO is a wish for Ukraine to be a neutral country," Zakharchenko said.

Ukraine's southeastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have been suffering from a crisis triggered by a military operation launched by the Kiev authorities against local militias in April 2014. The local population has refused to recognize the pro-Western government in Kiev that came to power in 2014 in what they consider was a coup.

Kiev dropped its non-aligned status in 2014, opening a way for NATO membership and drawing criticism from Russia and other states. On September 2, 2015, the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council endorsed a new military doctrine that called for the country to pursue NATO membership.