Ukraine to halt military-technical cooperation with Russia

Source:Xinhua Published: 2015-5-20 22:59:11

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that his government has decided to terminate an agreement with Russia on military-technical cooperation.

"The Cabinet is terminating the deal on military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation signed in 1993," Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting.

The decision was taken because Russia currently "represents a threat to Ukraine's security and territorial integrity," Yatsenyuk said.

Under the 1993 deal, the two ex-Soviet states have jointly developed and produced military goods and provided each other with related services.

To officially terminate the deal, Ukraine will have to deliver a written notice to Russia.

Tension between Kiev and Moscow flared up in March 2014, after Russia took Ukraine's autonomous region of Crimea.

Relations between the two countries worsened further in the past months amid escalating conflicts in eastern Ukraine. Fighting between Ukraine's government forces and pro-independence rebels has killed over 6,000 people so far.

Posted in: Europe

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