Ukraine can't become NATO member using scheme used for joining EU - Stoltenberg

BRUSSELS. April 3 (Interfax) - The principles for countries to join the European Union and NATO are different, and therefore the idea of making Ukraine a NATO member using a scheme similar to accession to the EU may not work, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

"We should not introduce something that similar to a two-step process. I think it is very important to maintain the one-step process for Ukraine to become a member," he told a press conference, responding to what he thinks about the idea stated by the Ukrainian side, according to which Ukraine could get "some kind of invitation" to the alliance at the coming NATO summit and all debated issues can be solved and it can be admitted to the alliance at later stages.

"That's the difference between NATO and the European Union. In the European Union, of course, when you are invited it can take years from an invitation to membership, while in NATO when you are invited it's something that happens soon after," Stoltenberg said.

"All allies agree that we need to continue to move Ukraine closer to NATO membership," he said.

NATO said in 2023 it had allowed Ukraine not to work on the implementation of the NATO Membership Action Plan. A standard package of reforms that countries seeking NATO membership are required to conduct was envisaged. Thanks to that decision, the process of ratification of this decision will start automatically as soon as the NATO states achieve a consensus on the need to invite Ukraine to the alliance.

The process for new members joining the EU is different. A country first gets candidate status and then the process of talks between the parties begins. During the process, Brussels needs to become convinced that the candidate meets numerous criteria. The negotiation process may take years, and there are no guarantees that it will be successful.