Stoltenberg on cancellation of MAP for Ukraine: Final decision has not yet been made, consultations are ongoing
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Censor.NET reports with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.
At the request of journalists, he commented on the announcement by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the allies had reached a consensus to remove the requirement for Ukraine to go through the Membership Action Plan from the declaration.
"The consultations are ongoing and there will be more meetings today. But I am sure that all the allies will agree on a very clear message also when it comes to Ukraine. No final decision has been made yet. But at the summit, and I am absolutely sure of this, we will have unity and a strong message on Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.
He recalled that in Oslo, at an informal meeting of foreign ministers, he had proposed a package for Ukraine that included "three elements".
"One is on a practical support programme to ensure full interoperability between Ukrainian troops and NATO forces, which will bring Ukraine closer to NATO, another element is the establishment of a NATO-Ukraine Council for consultation as well as joint decision-making, and the third element is to is to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, turning the membership process for Ukraine from a two-stage process to a one-stage process, and we are currently discussing these elements of the package and we are also finalising the negotiations on the exact wording," the Alliance Secretary General explained.
For this reason, he did not go into detail about the process of agreement by the allies.
"But I welcome the fact that we are now building (on) the package that was launched in Oslo, and I am confident that we will have a good, strong and positive message when the leaders meet," Stoltenberg said.
At the same time, the Secretary General stated that all allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance.
"I am confident that the summit will make decisions that will be strong and positive for Ukraine... But again, the final decision will be made when we all agree and the leaders meet tomorrow. So it is too early to announce specific decisions and specific language," he concluded.
