Russia condemns Ukrainian law that paves way to Nato

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president, was unapologetic about the move, saying that Ukraine had "no alternative to Euro-Atlantic integration".

Nato is unlikely to entertain making Ukraine a member any time soon, but the lifting of Kiev's restriction on joining security blocs clears the way for an accession at a later date.

MPs made clear the law was adopted in response to the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea and its intervention in the conflict in the east of the country.

Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine's foreign minister, told the parliament that "in the conditions of the current aggression against Ukraine, this law opens for us new mechanisms".

Ukraine's government veered towards a pro-western course after Mr Poroshenko was elected in May, following the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-leaning former president who fled to Russia after a popular uprising against his rule.

Government forces have been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine since April. A shaky ceasefire has largely held in recent weeks and peace talks are expected to tale place in Minsk, Belarus, on Wednesday and Friday.

The Kremlin has long seen Nato expansion in eastern Europe as a deliberate attempt to encircle Russia. Four countries bordering it have joined the bloc since the Soviet collapse Poland in 1999 and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2004.

Speaking at his annual press conference in Moscow last week, Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, said that enlargement of the alliance had built a new, "virtual" Berlin Wall around his country.

Arseny Yatsenuk, Ukraine's prime minister, visited Nato headquarters in Brussels earlier this month. Jens Stoltenberg, the bloc's secretary general, told him that Ukraine and Nato were "able to develop our partnership".

A spokesman for the alliance said on Tuesday: "Our door is open and Ukraine will become a member of Nato if it so requests and fulfils the standards and adheres to the necessary principles."

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Russia condemns Ukrainian law that paves way to Nato