DONETSK (Sputnik) – The DPR leader added that Kiev's renewed push to put Ukraine on the path toward NATO membership was directed at destroying the Minsk agreements.
“[Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko and his representative at the Minsk reconciliation talks [former Ukrainian President Leonid] Kuchma’s statement that Ukraine needs to join NATO is directed at destroying the Minsk agreements. If Ukraine begins preparing a referendum on joining NATO or any other procedure, then the DPR will immediately back out of the Minsk agreements and begin to cleanse the Kiev-occupied territories of Donbass,” Zakharchenko was quoted as saying by the Donetsk News Agency.
President Poroshenko said earlier he would initiate the process of joining the US-led military bloc if the move was backed by a majority vote, and as soon as the country implemented all necessary reforms. Ukraine dropped its non-aligned status last year, opening the way for NATO membership and drawing criticism from Russia and many other states.
