Kuleba: Ukraine 'fits into schedule' of launching talks on Ukraine's EU membership, step towards Ukraine's NATO membership to be taken in Vilnius

MOSCOW. June 23 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Ukraine "fits into the schedule" of launching talks about its membership in the European Union before the end of the year.

"We fit into it [the schedule]. If nothing bad happens, we will travel this path with dignity. It is important to note the extremely positive assistance of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Ukraine's traveling this path," Ukrainian media outlets quoted the minister as saying in an interview with the Suspilne television channel on Thursday.

"We're moving at normal, as the saying goes, cruising speed," Kuleba said.

He said he believes that a step towards Ukraine's membership in NATO would be taken at the Alliance's summit in Vilnius.

"From what I understand about the Vilnius summit, we're currently at the stage when our expectations have been already partially met, so to say. But I will say it metaphorically, when we started talking about the Vilnius summit with our partners, we were insisting that they take a step towards Ukraine's membership in NATO in Vilnius. Today, this problem has been solved. The step will be taken. The question is, how long will it be, how far will they raise a leg and put it down? But it is already an achievement in itself," Kuleba said.

Whereas before the crisis "Ukraine needed NATO more in order to protect itself and become stronger, now NATO needs Ukraine," he said.