Ex-ambassador to US: Key decisions on Ukraine's accession to NATO will be made next year

Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States (2015-2019) Valeriy Chaly said this live on Ukraine's Espreso TV channel, Ukrinform reports.

"Ukraine's accession to NATO will mean that we share responsibility for European security with other countries. Ukraine should not maintain this defense alone all the time. We need to be together in the Alliance. Key decisions regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO will be made in Washington next year, during the anniversary NATO summit," Chaly said.

According to the diplomat, a statement on the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine should be made at the NATO summit in Vilnius.

"At the summit in Vilnius, I expect a statement on the provision of ATACMS and other long-range missiles. There should also be a signal to Russia's leadership that the Kremlin's blackmail did not materialize and that Ukraine will be in NATO in a specific format. We are not ready to say this now, throw this bridge over to Washington and remove all questions: formulas, security guarantees of transitional periods, algorithms - all this should be left in the past. Now the question is yes or no," Chaly said.

The NATO leaders' summit will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12. One of the main issues to be discussed at the level of heads of state and government of the Allies will be the continuation of military assistance to Ukraine in the exercise of its right to self-defense against Russian aggression, as well as measures on strengthening the military bloc's deterrence and defense system.