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Russia threatens to withdraw from treaty

MOSCOW: Russia’s Parliament on Wednesday has called for withdrawing from the friendship treaty with Ukraine if the latter begins the process to join NATO.

The Duma — Lower House — on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a non-binding resolution urging President Dmitry Medvedev to “consider withdrawing” from the 1997 Russian-Ukrainian Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership should Ukraine enters into a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). Such a move by Ukraine would amount to “a de facto unilateral withdrawal from the treaty,” the resolution said.

In April, NATO — at its Bucharest summit — turned down Ukraine’s application for MAP in the face of strong opposition from the then President Vladimir Putin, who attended the meeting. However, the alliance promised to consider the Ukrainian bid again in December.

President Dmitry Medvedev warned his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko on telephone last week against “taking unilateral steps that run counter to earlier agreements and understandings.”

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