OREANDA-NEWS. No further steps towards Ukraine's NATO membership are currently foreseen. This was stated at a briefing in Berlin by the deputy official representative of the FRG government Ulrike Demmer.

She said: “Germany, like its partners in the EU and NATO, supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine ... As you know, NATO follows an open door policy in admitting new members. Ukraine has the right to freely choose its political needs. However, no further steps towards membership are currently foreseen. "

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in December 2014 amended two laws, abandoning the non-aligned status of the state. In June 2016, additional amendments were adopted that define NATO membership as the country's foreign policy goal. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament adopted amendments to the constitution, securing the country's course towards the EU and NATO. Ukraine has become the sixth state to receive NATO Enhanced Partner status. Earlier this status was received by Australia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan and Sweden. Enhanced Opportunities Partner status was introduced in NATO in 2014 to build deeper, more specialized bilateral relations.

Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said earlier that in order to join the alliance, Ukraine will need to achieve a number of criteria, the implementation of which will take a lot of time. Experts believe that Kiev will not be able to apply for NATO membership in the next 20 years.