Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin says the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has no full consensus yet on providing Ukraine with a Membership Action Plan (MAP).
"We have discussed [the issue] many times. We are perfectly aware of the fact that the debate is now ongoing and that today there is no full consensus on the issue," Klimkin told journalists on the sidelines of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on October 15, when asked about the position of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the possibility of providing the MAP to Ukraine.
At the same time, the minister said that Stoltenberg began their meeting, asking if Ukraine had paid attention to the messages voiced at the latest July NATO summit in Brussels as they were very important and unequivocal.
"It's also very important to have such messages, both for NATO and for Ukraine," Klimkin said.
According to the minister, he had a "very interesting and substantive" discussion with Stoltenberg.
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As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in February 2018 appealed to the NATO Secretary General, requesting a Membership Action Plan for Ukraine.
On March 16, Poroshenko said he had commissioned to prepare a draft amendment to the Constitution regarding Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO and the European Union.
On March 28, the president signed a decree "On approval of the Annual National Program under the auspices of the Ukraine-NATO Commission for 2018". According to the decree, Ukraine seeks to receive an invitation from NATO regarding the MAP in the medium term perspective.
On July 11, heads of the NATO member states at the Brussels summit adopted a declaration, which confirmed Ukraine's aspiration to gain membership in the Alliance. NATO confirmed the decision of the Bucharest summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Organization in the future if it met the required criteria.
On July 12, at the NATO summit, Stoltenberg stressed that Ukraine's long-term goal is to join the Alliance. However, the country should focus on the implementation of important reforms related to NATO standards and principles.
According to Stoltenberg, the Alliance will continue to expand its support for Ukraine in the context of an active conflict in Donbas.
