NATO receives Ukraine's application for further consideration
In the format of a note, Ukraine has officially sent an application for membership in NATO to the Secretary General of the Alliance, which will be further considered at the level of ambassadors of the member states.
Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the Office of the President, said this at a briefing.
"As of today, the Secretary-General received the application officially through a note from Ukraine, and the next stage will be the discussion of this application at the level of the North Atlantic Council, that is, at the level of the ambassadors of NATO member states in Brussels," he said.
Zhovkva noted that the leaders of nine countries have already published appeals to support Ukraine's membership in the alliance.
He also explained that Ukraine's declared "accelerated procedure" for joining NATO means there is no need for a MAP.
"When Ukraine declares that it will move to NATO under an accelerated procedure, it means that today, taking into account the experience of countries such as Sweden and Finland, Ukraine expects that the movement towards NATO membership will continue without the use of the instrument Membership Action Plan, which until today was one of the mandatory elements," he noted.
The deputy head emphasized that the President and the diplomatic service are currently negotiating with NATO member states so that the Ukrainian application "receives practical consideration."
As Rubryka reported, Ukraine has filed an application to join NATO. "We trust each other, help each other, and protect each other. This is what the Alliance is. De facto. Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure," Zelensky said during a video address, announcing the decision.
As the media reported, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg repeated the alliance's unchanging position that it is open to new members. "Every democracy in Europe has the right to apply for NATO membership, and NATO allies respect that right, and we have stated again and again that NATO's door remains open," Stoltenberg said.
He added that NATO members recently affirmed at a summit in Madrid that they "support Ukraine's right to choose its path, to decide what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of."
