Kyiv says hasty request for joining NATO may delay admission
KYIV. Sept 11 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian entry into NATO is not an immediate objective and for now Kyiv should focus on a program broadening space for collaboration with the alliance, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.
"In fact, our admission to NATO will be delayed if we raise this question right now. This is paradoxical but true," Klimkin said in a program aired by Channel Five on Wednesday night.
The minister said there must be positive dynamics in the field of security and "the NATO question should not polarize NATO itself or Ukraine."
"Once these two parallel tracks converge we will have a unique chance for the future development of relations with NATO," he said.
The Enhanced Opportunities Program was a major outcome of the NATO Wales summit, alongside the establishment of trust funds to support the Ukrainian security dimensions, the minister continued.
The program will offer a roadmap for Ukraine, "which will meet our interests and the NATO vision of ways to upgrade our Armed Forces and the entire security sector," he said.
This will give Ukraine a chance "to go as far as Ukraine and NATO are prepared to go," he explained.