The leadership of NATO granted Ukraine the status of a partner with advanced capabilities not to bring the country closer to membership in the alliance.
This was told by US Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison during a briefing before the meeting of the Alliance’s defense ministers.
According to her, granting Ukraine the status of a NATO partner with advanced capabilities “is not an alternative to the possibility of joining”, but also “is not a step” to obtain an Action Plan for Ukraine’s membership in NATO – a document that Kiev has been promised since the summit in Bucharest in spring 2008 .
“When the time comes, questions of membership and the provision of the plan will be tabled,” said Hutchison, not indicating how soon it would be.
At the same time, the official assured that the United States “actively supports Ukraine” and its territorial integrity “in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions”. Once again, on behalf of the American administration, she criticized the reunification of Crimea with Russia and recalled that Washington considers the peninsula to be Ukrainian.