Ukraine launches anti-pirate naval exercises with NATO
The Ukraine and NATO on Monday launched 11 days of naval
exercises, Sea Breeze 2010, despite the Ukraine's June decision not
to join the defence alliance, DPA reported.
The maneuvers had begun in the port city of Odessa, the Defence
Ministry in Kiev said. NATO countries including Germany, the US,
Poland, Georgia and Azerbaijan were taking part.
An anti-pirate exercise is to take place in the north-west of the
Black Sea and a land exercise is to take place in the Nikolayev
area.
Pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych had directed his Party of
Regions not to block permission for the exercises in
parliament.
But just last year, as leader of the opposition, he had spoken out
against the maneuvers.
The Ukraine's autonomous republic of Crimea, where the majority of
the population is Russian-speaking, also passed a ban on the
maneuvers in its parliament last year.
The majority of Ukrainians are also against joining NATO, according
to polls.
A small majority of the country's parliament in June approved a law
put forward by Yanukovych confirming Ukraine's non-aligned status,
thereby putting an end to the previous pro-Western government's
quest for NATO membership.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!