Ukraine is NATO`s valued partner, and the Bloc will continue offering strong political and practical support to Kyiv, according to Carmen Romero, the spokesperson for the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, LB.ua reports.
”For NATO, a sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security,” Romero said in an interview with LB.ua ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Ukraine-NATO Charter.
”On 9 July 1997, NATO signed with Ukraine the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership that further deepened joint cooperation through the creation of the NATO-Ukraine Commission,” said Romero. ”We will be marking the 20th anniversary of this Charter in July by the visit of the North Atlantic Council that reaffirms NATO`s continued political and practical support to Ukraine.”
Supporting reforms in Ukraine`s Armed and Defense Forces remains one of the top priorities of NATO`s practical support for Ukraine, according to the NATO official, who noted an ”important progress on the path of reform” Ukraine made in ”extremely difficult circumstances.”
”We fully realize the difficulty of carrying out reforms while fighting a conflict in the east,” she said. ”But we also believe that using the current window of opportunity to proceed with systemic reform of its security and defense sector will ultimately make Ukraine stronger and more resilient.”
