KIEV, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine, which is
seeking membership in NATO, has signed an agreement with the
military alliance on the transit of non-military cargo across
its territory to Afghanistan.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the relevant documents
were signed on Thursday in Brussels by NATO Secretary General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Ukrainian NATO envoy Ihor Sagach.
Ukraine has been pursuing NATO membership since
pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko was inaugurated in
January 2005. However, regular opinion polls show that the
majority of Ukrainians continue to oppose joining the alliance.
Due to worsening security on the main land route from
Pakistan and the imminent closure of a U.S. airbase in
Kyrgyzstan, NATO is seeking alternative routes to supply the
U.S.-dominated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
in Afghanistan.
There are 62,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, and U.S.
President Barrack Obama has pledged to deploy another 17,000
U.S. military personnel to the war-ravaged country.
News
