Ukraine seeks to fix perspective of NATO membership during July summit

Kiev, May 27 (IANS) Ukraine is seeking to fix its perspective of joining the NATO during the alliance’s upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July, top government offical Andriy Yermak said.

“Our expectations from the summit in Vilnius boil down to two key priorities: fixing in one form or another the absence of alternatives to the fact that we are on the path to NATO membership, and before joining the alliance, obtaining security guarantees,” Yermak was quoted as saying by the presidential press service.

Currently, Ukraine is holding talks with partner countries over the form of security guarantees, which will be in place before the country joins NATO, Xinhua news agency reported citing the official as saying.

The Ukrainian government is aware that the country could become a member of the alliance only when “the security situation allows”, Yermak emphasized.

The Vilnius NATO summit is slated for July 11-12.

NATO recognized Ukraine as its Enhanced Opportunities Partner in 2020.