From RFE/RL's News Desk:
President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law abandoning Ukraine's neutral "nonbloc" status, says Ukranians will decide whether to seek to join NATO once the country meets the alliance's standards.
More from Poroshenko's press conference:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Francois Hollande on January 15 to discuss peace efforts between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The meeting will take place in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, Poroshenko told a news conference in Kyiv on December 29.
Poroshenko and Putin have held several conversations with Merkel and Hollande as part of efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where more than 4,700 combatants and civilians have been killed since April.
Fighting has continued despite a September 5 agreement on a cease-fire and steps toward peace.
The latest peace talks, held in December 24 in Minsk, ended without a breakthrough, and a follow-up meeting expected on DEcember 26 was not held.
More from the Poroshenko presser:
President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law abandoning Ukraine's neutral "non-bloc" status, and said Ukrainians will decide whether the country should seek NATO membership once it meets the standards of the Western military alliance.
Poroshenko predicted that moment would come in five or six years.
He signed the law on December 29 during an end-of-year news conference in Kyiv.
"When Ukraine meets the appropriate standards -- I think that will be done within 5-6 years in the framework of strategy 2020 -- then the people of Ukraine will determine whether the country will join NATO," Poroshenko said.
The new law scraps 2010 legislation that barred Ukraine from seeking to join any military alliance.
Ukraine's parliament passed the law on December 23, drawing vocal criticism from Russia.
Poroshenko told lawmakers that day that Russian "aggression agains Ukraine" created the need for "more effective guarantees of independence, sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity."
Obama thinks Putin hasn't been so smart over Ukraine:
U.S. President Barack Obama says people outside Russia are beginning to think Vladimir Putin's actions over the past year have not been "so smart."
Obama spoke to NPR in an interview whose transcript was released on December 29.
He said that "three or four months ago, everybody in Washington was convinced that President Putin was a genius and he had outmaneuvered all of us and he had bullied and strategized his way into expanding Russian power."
By contrast, Obama said, "Today, I'd sense that at least outside of Russia, maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn't so smart."
The United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and support for separatists who have seized territory in eastern Ukraine.
Obama said it takes "strategic patience" to deal with problems like Russia's recent actions.