President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine has dropped his country's accession to NATO and the European Union as the ultimate objectives of the country's Euro-Atlantic and European integration policy from the clauses of the military doctrine of Ukraine.

This move is stated in the president's decree concerning the National security and defense council decision of July 6 "On the further development of relations with NATO, taking into account the outcome of the Ukraine-NATO commission meeting at the top level on June 29, 2004."

A spokesman for the Ukrainian president's administration told Itar-Tass about the above on Monday.

Kuchma also replaced a point of the military doctrine concerning conditions for ensuring military security, which listed conditions for the Euro-Atlantic integration policy, the ultimate objective of which was Ukraine��s accession to NATO as the basis for the pan-European security system.

In the new edition of the doctrine, this provision is reduced to a statement on the Euro-Atlantic integration policy. "The conditions of ensuring Ukraine's military security are confidence building between countries, consistent reduction of the threat of military force, translation into life of the Euro-Atlantic integration policy," the new edition reads.

The president also made changes to the military doctrine provision stating that Ukraine is getting ready to become a full fledged member of NATO and the European Union.

Initially, the doctrine pointed out that Ukraine's national interests call for deeper relations with NATO and the EU and, proceeding from the fact that these two organizations are guarantors of security and stability in Europe, Ukraine is getting ready to become a full fledged member of both.

The new edition prepared by Kuchma does not contain the words "getting ready to become a full fledged member of these organizations".

The clause concerning the intensification of the Euro-Atlantic integration with a view to joining NATO as a priority of Ukraine's foreign and domestic policy no longer contains the words about joining NATO.

The above changes have been made to the Military doctrine bearing in mind the outcome of the Ukraine-NATO commission meeting at the highest level within the framework of the NATO summit in Istanbul at the end of June.

Kuchma had endorsed Ukraine's new Military doctrine in the middle of June. Kiev held a presentation of the document at the Ukraine-NATO commission meeting. After the meeting Kuchma declared that Ukraine was not ready to join NATO and after the Ukraine-EU summit in July, the Ukrainian president said his country was not ready to join the European Union.

Source: Agencies