Released: March 29, 2010

Ukraine Says 'No' to NATO

Ukraine's new governing coalition recently announced its intention to pass a law against joining military alliances, which will fulfill Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's campaign promise to prevent Ukraine from becoming a member in NATO. The new president's opponents in parliament argue that this new strategy may result in pushing Ukraine back into the Russian "sphere of influence" and out of the European fold.

However, Yanukovych's move to ban Ukraine from joining NATO is not without a base of public support. A September 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, found that half of Ukrainians (51%) opposed their country's admission to NATO, while only 28% favored such a step. Moreover, given the opposition to membership, it is not surprising that about half of Ukrainians (51%) gave NATO an unfavorable rating.

Read complete commentary at pewresearch.org.