LVIV - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that his country is still not ready to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, while NATO is not ready to accept Ukraine.
“Is Ukraine ready to become a NATO member now? The answer is very simple – no. We should prepare for this. Is NATO ready for Ukraine to become its member? The answer will also be no. But I should say that all should be done to change Ukraine so that it will become a member of the European Union […] But the doors for Ukraine in NATO remain open since 2008,” Poroshenko said at a joint briefing with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the Yavorov ivsky firing range in the Lviv region on Sept. 21.
For his part, the NATO chief said that Ukraine would be able to apply for membership in the alliance after finalizing the reforms in the country.
Now Ukraine is focused on the reforms, the modernization of its Armed Forces, Stoltenberg said, noting that NATO is working together with Ukraine, supervising these reforms so that they will meet NATO standards. Then when the reforms are completed Ukraine will decide whether it wants to apply for NATO membership or not, the alliance head said, adding that if Ukraine does this bid will be assessed.
