"We will hold a referendum on NATO membership," Yushchenko told a news conference with U.S. President George W. Bush in Kiev ahead of a NATO summit in Romania on April 2-4. "The Ukrainians are a wise people" and they will make their choice.
However, the president made clear his position on NATO membership, saying joining the alliance would be the "best response to all the basic and fundamental interests of Ukraine."
Ukraine's drive toward NATO membership has triggered domestic parliamentary opposition protests amid widespread antipathy toward the alliance.
For the past two days, thousands of protesters have gathered on Kiev's main square displaying leftist flags and banners with slogans against Bush and NATO.
Yushchenko condemned the rallies, saying: "these were the flags that caused totalitarianism and suffering, the deaths of millions of people."
