Minister comments on revised NATO membership progress program

Kyiv held consultations on the adapted Annual National Program (ANP), which became the new measure of progress toward NATO membership after the Vilnius summit, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said on July 13.

Stefanishyna specified that Ukraine is negotiating the final format of the ANP with the partners but it is going to be a "very short program."

"On the sidelines of the summit, the president and I held several bilateral meetings where we discussed this issue. In fact, we agreed that we will, first of all, focus on topics related to interoperability and non-military support of Ukraine," she commented.

Stefanishyna said that this will encompass building NATO-compatible systems, particularly air defenses, as well as management of resources, medical rehabilitation, and implementation of NATO standards in defense and security sectors.

"This will be our priority until the Washington summit," the deputy prime minister added.

"But first of all, this is a 'road map' of interoperability. It has already been prepared by us and the Alliance and was presented to us in a certain way."

As a result of the July 11-12 summit in Vilnius, NATO adopted a three-part package to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance and dropped the need for the Membership Action Plan (MAP) but stopped short of a full invitation.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will be able to join once "allies agree, and conditions are met."