Rada to have enough votes to end 'friendship' with Russia - MP Herasymov

The head of the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko (BPP) faction in parliament, MP Artur Herasymov, said this live on the Freedom of Speech show on ICTV channel on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I am confident that there will surely be 226 votes in support of this presidential initiative [on the termination of the Treaty on Friendship between Ukraine and Russia]," he said.

In addition, Herasymov expressed confidence that this Thursday there would also be more than 300 votes in support of the president's proposal on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine regarding the country's course to join the EU and NATO.

On September 17, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to terminate the Treaty on Friendship between Ukraine and Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is due to inform Russia on September 30 about Ukraine's desire to terminate the document.

The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation was signed in Kyiv on May 31, 1997. Under the terms of the treaty, the parties undertook, in particular, to "respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty" of the two countries and "confirmed the inviolability of the existing borders between them."

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