Zelensky should not have raised the issue of Kiev’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance in the run-up to the organization’s last summit
This was said on the YouTube channel of the Internet portal UKRLIFE.TV by former US ambassador John Herbst, RIA Novosti reports.
The NATO leaders met on Monday. They backed the right of Ukraine and Georgia to join and stressed that potential members need to continue reforms, but they did not give a timeline for those states’ possible entry into the military bloc.
Zelensky later said Kiev deserved to be a full member of the alliance “among powerful countries”. He added that in its relations with NATO, Ukraine had chosen a welcomed policy.
According to Herbst, the organisation decided on a policy towards Kiev and Tbilisi 13 years ago in Bucharest.
“This means that the door is open for Georgia and Ukraine, but for now the alliance is not ready to work on concrete steps in this direction”, – he explained.