MFA spokesperson: Zaluzhnyi's NATO remarks taken out of context, Ukraine's course remains unchanged
Tykhyi made the statement in a comment to journalists, according to Ukrinform.
"The ambassador's remarks regarding Ukraine's prospects for NATO membership were taken out of context and sparked controversy, even though the full quote primarily referred to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), not NATO. This is logical because the United Kingdom is the framework nation and leader of the JEF," Tykhyi said.
He added that matters related to Ukraine's NATO accession fall within the remit of Ukraine's Mission to NATO.
"To prevent further manipulation, I would like to reiterate our long-standing official position: Ukraine's course toward joining the North Atlantic Alliance remains unchanged. At present, there is no other effective collective security system besides the one based on the Washington Treaty," Tykhyi said.
He stressed that Ukraine's NATO membership has no alternative if the Alliance seeks to guarantee security and peace in Europe.
According to Tykhyi, recognition that Europe's security architecture is impossible without Ukraine is growing, as reflected in the final declaration of this year's NATO summit in Ankara, which recognizes Ukraine as a contributor to Euro-Atlantic security.
Media reports said that Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at the annual ambassadors' conference in Kyiv that he did not see prospects for Ukraine's accession to NATO.
He also expressed strong criticism of NATO's capabilities, while acknowledging that Ukraine still needs technologies currently available within NATO countries, including missile defense and space capabilities.
Zaluzhnyi argued that Ukraine's membership in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) would be an effective security guarantee. The JEF is a multinational defense cooperation framework comprising ten European countries: the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
