Lithuanian Foreign Minister Advises Ukraine Not to Pay Attention to Politicians’ Statements: "They Also Promised Not to Let Lithuania into NATO"
This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius in an interview with EvroPravda, Censor.NET reports.
"We were told that we will never become a member of NATO - the same as Ukraine hears now. We had all this. I was told this personally when I served as ambassador to NATO," he said.
"But, as you can see, this is not an insurmountable obstacle," Linkevičius added.
At the same time, the Minister noted that Lithuania had to do a lot for NATO membership to become a reality.
"You just need to set a goal, to reach a consensus in society (about the need for NATO membership) and do not stop at the first obstacle on the way to joining the alliance," Linkevičius said.
Earlier, a number of European leaders said that Ukraine should not join NATO.
In particular, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that he does not see Ukraine as NATO member in the future.
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General said that the Alliance believes the decision of the Bucharest NATO Summit 2008 remains in force regarding Ukraine's North Atlantic prospects, i.e. doors are open if Ukraine wants to join and is ready to do so.
