Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that it was too early for Ukraine to think of becoming a NATO member.
According to him, first one needs to "thoroughly reform the country from an economic, social and administrative point of view" before holding a referendum on NATO membership. Poroshenko said that Ukraine would be ready to consider the possibility of membership in the alliance in 7 years, when the country overcomes the current crisis.
For the time being, Ukraine is standing on the verge of default. The nation's GDP has dropped by nine percent. The inflation rate makes up 46%. The national currency, hryvnia, has become three times as cheap. Against this background, in the south-east of the country Kiev continues to so-called "anti-terrorist operation", which is in fact a civil war.
A country that has territorial disputes can not become a member of NATO. Therefore, to join the alliance, Ukraine will have to overcome economic difficulties and recognize the Crimea as a Russian territory. Experts do not believe in the possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine at all. According to their estimates, Kiev does not have to even count on joining the North Atlantic Alliance in the next 20 years.