Kuleba on Ukraine's path to NATO: “indecently long” process

23.09.2021 10:30

Ukraine authorities don’t know when the country will receive a NATO Membership Action Plan as its Euro-Atlantic integration has been dragging for an “indecently long” time.

This was stated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba who spoke at a virtual briefing in New York, aired on his Facebook page, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"There is no understanding when Ukraine will receive the MAP, but it’s actually a frank discussion, a friendly one, by the way, an open conversation that we have with NATO, stating that this integration (process – ed.) can’t last forever," Kuleba said.

The foreign minister also mentioned his recent meeting with the head of one of the delegations to the 2008 Bucharest summit, who told Kuleba that he had thought at the time it would only take a few years for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO.

“But the process has been dragging on. It’s been dragging on for an indecently long time. Therefore, I think everyone needs to approach the issue more pragmatically and practically, because there can be no endless integration. Everything must have its certainty and its clarity,” the head of Ukrainian diplomacy stressed.

Kuleba noted that both NATO and Ukraine are convinced that they are making each other stronger, and that his country would pursue further reform, required for Euro-Atlantic integration.

“Today, the NATO secretary general praised Ukraine's reforms and thanked the president of Ukraine for his commitment to the path of reforms,” the minister said.

The official noted that Ukraine will speak openly about the members of the Alliance who have no interest in Ukraine’s reforms, while simply exploiting this argument to hinder the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, during his New York visit, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The head of state expressed confidence that without a country like Ukraine, the Alliance would be weaker.