Ukraine's stance misunderstood: "We are not giving up"

Ukraine's stance misunderstood: "We are not giving up"

Today, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Britain, Vadym Prystaiko, clarified his earlier statements on the possible withdrawal of Kiev from NATO membership, stating that Ukraine will not reconsider its efforts to join the military alliance.

Asked if Ukraine could reconsider its ambitions to join NATO, Ambassador Prystaiko told the BBC:

"No, that is not true and I am very happy to have this opportunity to clarify my position," Prystaiko said, adding that a previous BBC report was the result of a misunderstanding, as it claimed that Ukraine would refer to the ambassador's statement saying that it could give up its candidacy to join NATO to avoid war with Russia.

"We are not currently a member of NATO and in order to avoid war, we are ready to make many concessions, and that is what we are doing in talks with the Russians," Prystaiko said.

"It has nothing to do with NATO," the ambassador said, adding that Kiev's goal of joining NATO was even enshrined in the country's constitution. Asked again whether Ukraine is changing its goal of becoming a NATO member, the Ukrainian ambassador said: "No".

A spokesman for Ukrainian President Sergey Nikiforov also said today that Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO and the European Union are foreseen by its constitution and remain an absolute priority for the country. "This course is not only reflected in the Constitution, but there is full agreement between the government and society," a spokesman told Reuters.

Asked to comment on the BBC report, which, quoting Ambassador Prystaiko, said that Ukraine was ready to be "flexible" regarding its goal of joining the Atlantic military alliance, the spokesman said: "The words of Prystaiko were taken out of context".

"The words of Prystaiko taken out of context"

The words of the Ukrainian ambassador to Great Britain, Vadim Prystaiko, that Ukraine is allegedly ready to consider giving up NATO membership in order to avoid war with Russia, were taken out of context, said the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko. He told the Interfax-Ukraine agency that Ukraine, for the sake of peace and preservation of the lives of its citizens, is ready for any format of dialogue with countries and international organizations.

Nikolenko pointed out that Prystaiko rightly noted in the interview that the perspective of NATO membership is contained in the Constitution of Ukraine, but that Ukraine is not yet a member of NATO or any other alliance, so the key issue for it is the issue of security guarantees. He believes that the best such guarantee would be Ukraine's urgent admission to the Alliance. "But threats to Ukraine exist here and now, so finding an answer to the question of guarantees is a fundamental and urgent task," Nikolenko pointed out.

He added that no decision can be made contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine.