MOSCOW (Reuters) - Aspiring NATO member Ukraine is prepared to adopt legislation banning the alliance's bases from its soil, Russia's RIA news agency quoted Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko as saying on Wednesday.
"If the Russian side is worried about military bases thenUkraine will never go for that ... We are ready to underpinthat constitutionally," he said at a meeting with members ofthe Ukrainian community in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned at a meeting withYushchenko on Tuesday that Moscow could be obliged to aim itsmissiles at Ukraine, its neighbour and former Soviet satellite,if it joined NATO.
Ukraine's constitution already bans it from hosting foreignmilitary bases, with the exception of the Ukrainian port ofSevastopol, where Russia leases a base for its Black Sea fleet.
Several of Russia's former military allies in easternEurope have joined NATO since the 1991 break up of the SovietUnion.
Ukraine has applied to NATO for a Membership Action Plan,the first step on the path to membership. NATO members areexpected to discuss the application at a summit in April.
(Writing by James Kilner)
