Ukraine needs NATO as much as Alliance needs Ukraine - FM

MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) - Ukraine is calling on NATO to recognize in Vilnius that Ukraine needs NATO as much as the Alliance needs Ukraine and should be invited to join NATO right now, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said.

"We are not seeking immediate membership. [...] What we are therefore requesting is a strong step toward Ukraine's future membership," Kuleba was quoted by the Ukrainian media as saying in his statement to the Foreign Policy publication.

Ukraine is urging NATO to recognize "three obvious things" in Vilnius, the minister said.

"First, NATO needs Ukraine as much as Ukraine needs NATO; second, Ukraine is an inseparable part of Euro-Atlantic security; and third, Ukraine should be invited now to join NATO, with membership taking effect when conditions are met," the minister said.

"If NATO leaders are not yet ready to grant an invitation in Vilnius, they should state clearly when they will be. Membership has formal requirements, but an invitation does not. All that is required is strategic foresight and political will," the foreign minister said.