The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Andriy Parubiy, has declared that joining NATO is a strategic goal for the country and that parliament is wholeheartedly behind the initiative. Ukraine largely maintained a non-alliance policy in the years following its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. However, following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Kyiv has pushed for deepening ties with the West.
Newsweek: Parubiy says Ukraine’s parliament fully behind joining NATO
A handout picture released and taken on December 17, 2015 by the Nato press office shows Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko (R) shaking hands with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) in Brussels.
