Kyiv is not yet ready to join NATO.

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Although supportive in principle, Ukraine's accession to NATO is not an immediate goal for the alliance. Photo: Sputnik

"Ukraine is not yet ready to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)" is the latest statement from German Ambassador to Ukraine Ernst Wolfgang Reichel.

In an interview with the Ukrainian magazine Novoe Vremya, Ambassador Reichel stated: “At the most recent NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, last July, there was a meeting between Ukraine and NATO. At this meeting, NATO member states agreed to issue a joint statement on the future development of relations between Ukraine and the military alliance. The leaders of NATO member states also affirmed their commitment to an open policy, creating opportunities for Ukraine to join the alliance in the future. Of course, this would be accompanied by the full fulfillment of all of Kyiv's obligations.”

Nevertheless, Ambassador Reichel asserted: "Admitting Ukraine will not be a task for the bloc in the near future."

In December 2014, Ukraine announced it was abandoning its non-aligned military policy and confirmed its intention to join NATO.

In September 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed into law a military doctrine. According to Poroshenko, this was a necessary regulation for the Ukrainian armed forces to meet NATO standards by 2020.

Last March, Ukraine and NATO agreed on a series of reforms for the Ukrainian armed forces to meet stringent NATO standards, following a roadmap for defense-technical cooperation reached last December.

However, with the latest statement from the German ambassador to Ukraine, Kyiv's path to NATO may still be a long one.

Khang Duy

(According to Sputnik)