BRUSSELS, August 29 (RIA Novosti) — None of the NATO member countries have delivered any weapons to Ukraine and Kiev regrets this, Ukrainian Ambassador and NATO Envoy Ihor Dolhov said Friday.
“No, unfortunately not. None of the NATO member countries have given Ukraine any arms," Dolhov said.
The NATO envoy added that Kiev was not expecting NATO to intervene in the Ukrainian crisis and understands that the alliance cannot send any troops, Ukrainian Ambassador and NATO Envoy Ihor Dolhov said Friday.
“We're not looking at this option [of direct NATO intervention]. We need more aid, including military. It’s clear that NATO cannot send Ukraine any troops, we’re not expecting this from NATO member countries. We can defend ourselves, but we need help in order to stop the aggression," Dolhov said.
NATO has repeatedly pledged its support to Ukraine, and stepped up its presence in Eastern Europe.
Earlier today, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has introduced legislation to the country’s parliament to drop its “non-aligned bloc” status and renew its path toward becoming a member of NATO.
In 2008, NATO declined Ukraine’s bid to join the alliance’s Membership Action Plan.
According to NATO’s charter, a country cannot join the alliance if it has unresolved territorial disputes. Ukraine has never recognized Crimea as part of the Russian Federation.
Attitude to Ukraine’s potential joining NATO reflects a number of controversies between its eastern and western regions: the former ones tend to be pro-Russian and regard this possibility as a threat , whereas the latter consider it to be a chance to get integrated into the Euro-Atlantic alliance. Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s third president (2005-2010) set a course for Ukraine to join NATO, while his successor Viktor Yanukovych (2010-2014) formalized in legislation Ukraine’s out-of-bloc status.
The country’s authorities stated in spring and summer that there was no question of Ukraine being a NATO member, saying there was no consensus on the issue among the public.
On August 29 Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers introduced a bill to Rada revoking Ukraine’s out-of-bloc status and resuming the course to join NATO. The alliance stated more than once that there was yet no question of Ukraine becoming a NATO member under debate.
In 2008 NATO countries rejected Ukraine’s application to get a membership roadmap.
