Ukraine could receive invitation to NATO with "dates" at Washington summit - Ukrainian official

MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - Ukraine could receive an invitation to NATO with concrete dates at the alliance's summit in Washington, head of the Verkhovna Rada's permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Yegor Chernev, a member of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction, said.

"I think that the prospect of receiving an invitation with concrete dates will not be quite realistic at this summit [in Vilnius]. But I hope that it will be [...] issue no. 1 at the next summit, which will take place in Washington," Ukrainian media quoted Chernev as saying during the national telethon on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, it is realistic for Ukraine to receive security guarantees at the summit in Vilnius, he said.

"Security guarantees are realistic, these prospects are realistic, when the security situation permits. This is the wording that will be sufficient for us, plus security guarantees until we become a full-fledged member of NATO. In my opinion, this is the maximum result that we could currently reach at the summit in Vilnius," he added.

In Vilnius, Ukraine wants to hear "totally clear-cut assurances" that the alliance is awaiting it once the crisis is over, Chernev said.

"We are also requesting a schedule for granting membership after the crisis. We are pushing, demanding at different levels and in different formats, articulating [...] the specific words and phrases that we'd like to see in the summit's final communique. And these points are present there as well. I hope that we will secure them at this summit as well," Chernev said.

As reported, the NATO summit will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12.

NATO will hold a summit in Washington in 2024.