“At the moment, four partner countries have declared their aspirations to NATO membership: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Ukraine,” the report of NATO reads.
The status of aspirant countries means that countries that have declared interest in joining the Alliance are first invited to join the Intensified Dialogue with NATO regarding their desire for membership and related reforms.
“This is very important. NATO recognized the status of an aspirant country for Ukraine! Step by step, we are approaching a full membership in the Alliance,” First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko commented on the decision of NATO on her Facebook page.
She also noted that Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller on March 9. The parties discussed this issue during a meeting, and “such wonderful news appeared on the official NATO website in the evening.”
