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Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who has described Ukraines renunciation of its neutral status as a counterproductive step. Photograph: Sergei Chirikov/EPA

The Ukrainian parliament has renounced the countrys non-aligned status with the aim of eventually joining Nato, to the anger of Moscow, which views the western alliances eastward expansion as a security threat.

Kiev first announced its intention of seeking the protection of Nato membership in August, following what it deemed the open participation of Russias military in a separatist war in Ukraines eastern provinces.

Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, called Ukraines renunciation of its neutral military and political status a counterproductive step that would only boost tensions around the crisis in the east.

It will only escalate the confrontation and creates the illusion that it is possible to resolve Ukraines deep internal crisis by passing such laws, Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

Addressing deputies in Kiev before the vote, the Ukrainian foreign minister said the move underscored the countrys determination to pivot towards Europe and the west. This will lead to integration in the European and the Euro-Atlantic space, Pavlo Klimkin said.

The amendment passed easily, receiving 303 votes 77 more than the minimum required to pass into law.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Russias prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, warned that in essence, an application for Nato membership will turn Ukraine into a potential military opponent for Russia.

Medvedev said that Ukraines rejection of neutrality and a new Russian sanctions law that US President Barack Obama signed on Friday will both have very negative consequences.

And our country will have to respond to them, he wrote.

Read more here:
Ukraine angers Russia with landmark step towards Nato ...

Envoys to Ukraine peace talks are discussing an exchange of prisoners before the New Year, according to a separatist leader, as Russia criticized the country for having NATO ambitions.

The talks may continue for about two days and no agreements have been reached yet, Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic, told the pro-Russian rebels news website.

Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent representatives to Minsk, Belarus, yesterday to hold the first of two planned rounds of talks. The participants, including separatist negotiators, left the venue without commenting to reporters.

The main task at the moment is to stop the violence, Alexei Panin, deputy director of the Center for Political Information, a Moscow-based research group, said by phone.

A two-week truce has tempered the bloodshed in a conflict that has killed more than 4,700 people since April in fighting between government forces and separatists in Ukraines eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The talks cleared the last objections to a swap of 150 prisoners for 225, Zakharchenko said. Ukraines Security Service reiterated commitment to an all-for-all exchange, RIA Novosti reported. The press services of the security service and Ukraines Foreign Ministry didnt immediately respond to phone calls or e-mailed requests for comment.

In an address to the region earlier today, Zakharchenko accused the Ukrainian government of using the pause in talks to plan attacks on the rebel stronghold. Andriy Lysenko, a military spokesman, denied there are plans to resume an offensive, Interfax reported.

Ukraine has a list of 225 prisoners its ready to swap, Ukrainian State Security Service adviser Markiyan Lubkivsky said yesterday. That group includes Russian officers, he said, declining to disclose how many.

Ukraine said the pro-Russian rebels have used 19 drones for reconnaissance in the past 24 hours, a significant increase. The adversary hasnt dropped the intention to control, Lysenko told reporters today. They are monitoring how our troops are reinforcing and redeploying.

In a phone call at the start of the week, Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said the contact groups agreements made in September still need to be fulfilled, including the withdrawal of heavy artillery, according to the Ukrainian presidents website.

Link:
Ukraine Peace Talks Focus on Prisoner Swap Before New Year Break

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