U.S: Georgia and Ukraine note mature for NATO yet

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukraine and Georgia are not ready to join NATO yet, according to U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Ms. Victoria Nuland.



Ukraine and Georgia have set a strategic goal - to join NATO, still at the latest alliance summit held on April 2-4, in Bucharest, they were not included into NATO MAP. Discussion was postponed to December.



"No NATO member can say Ukraine and Georgia have matured to join the alliance," the ambassador said.



The U.S. supports joining of the two states to MAP, said Ms. Nuland, as it is an "educative program of NATO, which assists to implement democracy and reforms, settle internal problems, both countries still have, for they were ready to the alliance membership."



""So I think if Ukraine and Georgia were granted MAP, it will be a number of years. It will be a number of years because they have a lot of work to do. How many years would be dependent on how quickly the internal issues were addressed and how well we work together. But I can promise you one thing, at the moment when NATO is ready to offer membership to Ukraine and Georgia, they will be stronger, more democratic, more peaceful neighbors of yours because that's what MAP does," Ms. Nuland concluded, ForUm reports.