Ukraine has no plans to join NATO

Ukraine's new Western-backed prime minister said on Tuesday that his ex-Soviet country had no plans to join NATO following last month's fall in Kiev of a pro-Kremlin regime. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in a televised address to the nation that "for the sole purpose of preserving the unity of Ukraine, the issue of (Ukraine's) accession to NATO is not on the agenda." "The country will be defended by a strong and modern Ukrainian army," Yatsenyuk said, according to AFP.