You're reading: Stars and Stripes: Ukraine abandons bid to join NATO

Ukraine has given up its bid to join NATO but will continue to pursue greater collaboration on security matters with the alliance, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday.

The nation of 45 million people, which gained independence from the
Soviet Union in 1990, applied for membership in NATO five years ago. It
has participated in NATO-led military exercises and in operations such
as the intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the naval anti-piracy
patrols off the Somali coast. Ukraine also has contributed a medical
team to the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan.

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