Ukraine should become NATO member without MAP – Kuleba

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this in Kyiv on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at a joint briefing with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, European Pravda reports.

"We believe that the MAP should no longer be considered an element on the path to membership. This is a mechanism that has outlived its usefulness and should not be applied to Ukraine," Kuleba said.

In his opinion, granting Ukraine the MAP under the current circumstances has already lost its relevance as the next step on the path to NATO.

Finland and Sweden have started the accession procedure without the MAP stage.  

At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister considers Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance inevitable.

"This will happen sooner or later. Because without Ukraine, it is impossible to protect the Euro-Atlantic space. And we have to change the minds of those who believe that membership should happen rather later than sooner," Dmytro Kuleba emphasised.

Today's official meeting between Kuleba and Tsahkna is dedicated to preparations for Ukraine's participation in the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  has said he does not currently consider it necessary to go there unless NATO members are ready to grant Ukraine full membership in the Alliance.