Ukraine does not seek immediate NATO membership (official)

Although Ukraine has officially abandoned its non-aligned status, it is not seeking immediate membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an official from the country's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

"Our strategy is not to ask for the membership right now, but to prepare for it," Alexei Makeev, head of the Policy and Communications Department at the Foreign Ministry, said at a conference entitled "Ukraine - NATO: Partnership for a united and free Europe."

Makeev said Kiev should implement a number of reforms and bring the country closer to the standards of the NATO member states before formally applying for membership in the alliance.

In December last year, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill to revoke the country's non-aligned status, paving the way for a bid to join NATO.

But Ukraine's prospect for NATO membership in the near term appears dim as Kiev has not yet fulfilled political, military, legal and economic requirements to join the alliance.
  Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
27/5/15
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