Ukraine's course for NATO does not mean immediate membership bid - Poroshenko

10.07.2017 12:13

Ukrinform

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that a legislative decision by Ukraine to secure its course for NATO membership as a priority in foreign policy does not mean that the country will immediately apply for membership of the alliance.

He said this at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission in Kyiv on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The head of state recalled that Ukraine had recently passed a law outlining accession to NATO as one of the key factors in Ukraine's foreign policy.

"This does not mean that we will immediately submit an application for membership. Absolutely no! This means that we need to build a real program of reforms, a program of our cooperation, and intensify our efforts so as to achieve the necessary standards," Poroshenko said.

He noted that Ukraine needed the assistance and cooperation of partners from the alliance to achieve the necessary standards.

At the same time, he recalled that only the NATO member states could either support or oppose the accession of a new state to the alliance.