Ukrainians will be offered referendums on joining NATO and the EU in the “near future”, President Petro Poroshenko said Friday.

“We are fully sticking to our path towards European integration,” Poroshenko said in remarks broadcast by several Ukrainian television stations.

“Have no doubt that in the very near future there will be referendums in Ukraine, including on NATO membership. I am convinced that the Ukrainian people will support my proposal” he said.

A vote on joining the European Union was also planned, he added.

A survey released last week indicated that some 43 percent of Ukrainians support joining the military alliance.

The November survey reported 56 percent of Ukrainians support joining the EU.

Kiev closely cooperates with NATO without being an official candidate for membership in the US-led alliance.

Source: AFP