(KIEV) - Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of seeking to destabilise the ex-Soviet state, dismissing the idea it was in Moscow's special zone of interest and describing Kiev's EU and NATO ambitions as "irreversible."

Ukrainian leaders are concerned that its mainly Russian-populated autonomous region of Crimea may fall under Moscow's influence in the same way as Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"Russia's attempts to destabilise the situation in Ukraine... will not work," a statement from the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.

"Continuing with such a policy will eventually undermine the Russian Federation's position of being a good partner in the world," it said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ogryzko said last week that Russia was moving to expand its influence in Crimea by giving out Russian passports.

Russia employed this policy extensively in the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both now recognised as independent states by Moscow.

Russia condemned Thursday the "unfriendly" stance of Ukraine over the war in Georgia and its treatment of ethnic Russians, fuelling tensions in what is feared could be the region's next flashpoint.

Ukraine on Saturday rejected those accusations and criticised Russia for making statements it described as "biased" and "far from reality".

"Ukraine has been an independent state for 17 years and in no way will it be included into the sphere of 'exclusive interests' of any country," the foreign ministry statement said.

"Ukraine's choice to joining EU and NATO is irreversible," it added.

Moscow strongly opposes Kiev's attempts to join the European bloc and the military alliance.

Western analysts say Russia's five-day war with Georgia last month was a reminder from Moscow that it wants ex-Soviet nations on its borders, especially Ukraine, to remain in Russia's orbit.

People in the southeast of Ukraine are mainly Russian-speaking, while those in the northwest predominantly speak Ukrainian and are more oriented towards integration with the West.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko sees entry into the EU and NATO as key to anchoring it to Europe and has stepped up his campaign after Russia sent troops into Georgia last month.

Yushchenko last month earned Russia's wrath by imposing restrictions on the Russian navy -- Russia's Black Sea fleet is based at Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean coast.

Bitter in-fighting between Ukraine's Western-oriented president and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, sharpened by divisions over ties with Russia, has done little to advance the cause of EU membership.

Relations between Yushchenko and his one-time ally have badly deteriorated, with the presidency accusing Tymoshenko of "high treason" for allegedly siding with Moscow over the Georgia conflict.

Tymoshenko hinted Monday for the first time she might form a new government coalition with the same pro-Moscow opposition she had challenged alongside Yushchenko in 2004 street protests known as the Orange Revolution.

The pro-Western coalition broke apart on September 3, with differences exacerbated by strains over Russia's conflict with Georgia whose president Mikheil Saakashvili is a close ally of Yushchenko.

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