Putin’s statements make Yushchenko willing to hide under “NATO umbrella” as soon as possible

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says he found serious the threat expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to target ballistic missiles to Europe and the Ukrainian leader believes that such statements have only increased willingness of his country to join NATO as soon as possible. He made the announcement to The Globe and Mail (Canada), abstracts from which were made public by the presidential press office yesterday, reports a REGNUM correspondent.

“Yushchenko also complained of Russian interference in his country's turbulent domestic politics. Despite heated opposition from the Kremlin, the pro-Western politician said he still plans to take his country into NATO and the European Union,” says the newspaper.

“I think the President of Russia is not kidding,” Viktor Yushchenko said, referring to Putin's warning last week that Russia could aim its missiles at “new targets in Europe” if the United States pushes ahead with its controversial plans to build an anti-missile shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Despite the fact that later Putin tried to ease tension proposing Azerbaijan as possible location of a joint Russian-American missile-defense system, Yushchenko said that the current belligerence of the Ukrainian big neighbor showed that the country needs to hide under the “NATO umbrella” as soon as possible. “The recent events, I think, show to everyone that we have quite a creaky security balance. This really triggers some concerns and could be really painful. It's becoming more and more apparent that the best response to all the challenges regarding defense and security policy can only be given through a collective system of defense,” the Ukrainian leader said in his interview.

It is worth mentioning, the Ukrainian leader gave the interview a day after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia.