John Kerry: It is too early to talk about Ukraine joining NATO
The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, stated at a joint press conference with Petro Poroshenko in Kiev that NATO is ready to welcome new members, when they are ready. In response journalists’ questions about expectations from the NATO Summit and the Ukrainian-NATO commission meeting, Poroshenko said that he hopes for U.S. support concerning the Alliance’s open-door policy.
“Above all, we’re counting on NATO support concerning positions declared at the Bucharest Summit, they key one being that NATO’s door is open to any European country,” Poroshenko stated. In his turn, Kerry noted the progress of Ukraine in defense reform. At the same time, he stated that Kiev still has much to do.
“The U.S. has an open-door policy. We are ready to welcome new members, when they are ready,” the United States Secretary of State stressed. He added that Ukraine still has a long way to go in reforming the defense sector. He pointed out that Ukraine has yet to make a decision on acceding to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Poroshenko said himself that Ukraine hasn't made a decision whether it wants to submit an application to join NATO,” Kerry stressed. According to him, the future will depend on decisions taken in Kiev. “Now, it is too early to talk about something else,” Kerry stated.