Tensions May Cause Merkel To Refuse Ukraine NATO Bid

Tensions May Cause Merkel To Refuse Ukraine NATO Bid

Escalating tensions in the Eastern part of Ukraine may cause German Chancellor Angela Merkel to turn down any immediate NATO aspirations that Ukraine will pose. The news comes as President Petro Poroshenko announced he will be holding a referendum on his country joining NATO.

Anonymous German officials declared that such an abrupt procedure would only inflame tensions with Russia and that NATO accession talks aren’t an option for Merkel in the immediate future. German officials also added that the only way a country can join NATO is by a vote carried out by the Alliance members not by popular vote in the candidate country.

Michael Grosse-Broemer one of the key figure in the Christian Democratic led German parliament also said that NATO membership for Ukraine is impossible at the current moment. On an EU level, France unofficially seems to back Germany’s decision, sending a clear message to Petro Poroshenko not to aggravate the already serious situation in Eastern Ukraine where more than 4,300 people have been killed in the last eight months.

While NATO was initially an adversary to the Soviet Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin still views it as a possible threat to Russian interest in the region. A Russian government official added that NATO membership for Ukraine is unacceptable and would only lead to a further escalation in violence, something that Russia would not tolerate.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday November 27 2014, 4:07 AM EST. Ref: Bloomberg. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0