Translated by Ollie Richardson & Angelina Siard
14:40:09
08/01/2019
tass.ru
Ukraine has no prospect of entering the EU or becoming a NATO country in the next few years. This was stated on Tuesday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavel Klimkin.
“Such a Ukraine as the one that exists today will not enter the EU nor NATO in 1 year, 2 years, or even 5 years,” he recognised on the air of the Ukrainian TV channel “1+1”. According to him, what Kiev must do concerning the situation with the North Atlantic Alliance is “a little more simpler” than it is with the Europe Union. “We need consensus in NATO, and it is necessary to do something in Ukraine, because we are not ready. Here we have to speak honestly,” he added.
A course towards Euro-Atlantic integration was proclaimed in Ukraine after the coup d’etat in 2014. Within the framework of this policy, the Agreement on Association between Ukraine and the EU, which regulates the gradual economic and political rapprochement of Ukraine and the European Union countries, came into force on September 1st 2017, and the agreement on a free trade zone has been in effect since January 1st 2016.
The president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko regularly makes statements about the prospect of Ukraine’s EU membership. For the purpose of achieving these aspirations, in November of last year he introduced in the Verkhovna Rada a draft law that enshrines in the constitution the strategic path of Ukraine towards EU and NATO integration, which has already been approved by parliament in the first reading.
At the same time, in 2016 the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said that Ukraine “will not be able to become a member of the EU and NATO in the next 20-25 years”.
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