Ukraine has received positive assessment of progress on its way to NATO membership – Sybiha
The allies positively assessed Ukraine's efforts in implementing the Annual National Program, a plan to promote the country's membership in NATO.
This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha following his participation in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
The main purpose of the agenda of this meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) was to assess Ukraine's progress in implementing the Annual National Program. We received a positive assessment. I confirm that this is a positive assessment of our progress towards the strategic and unchanging goal of Ukraine's membership in NATO. This is very important," the Minister emphasized.
Sybiha noted that the Ukrainian side is trying to make the most of each such meeting to accelerate its path to NATO membership.
At the same time, according to the Foreign Minister, Russia's war against Ukraine affects the position of certain allied countries on this issue.
"The two previous NATO summits - in Vilnius and Washington - confirmed the irreversibility of Ukraine's path to NATO. We see this as support from our partners. But the right time must come for this. We are a country subject to Russian aggression. Indeed, it is difficult to talk about the possibility of Ukraine's membership in NATO when military operations are taking place on its territory. This is the position of some NATO countries, which believe that this could lead to their direct involvement in the war. Ukraine does not want this," added Sybiha.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ukraine officially rejects guarantees that are substitutes for NATO membership. In turn, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it was impossible to invite part of Ukraine's territory to NATO.
