Poroshenko: Ukraine Seeking NATO Membership Action Plan
By RFE/RL
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says Kyiv is seeking a Membership Action Plan (MAP), a formal step toward joining NATO.
Poroshenko, in a post on Facebook on March 10, said a MAP was Ukraine's "next ambition" towards eventual membership in the 29-country Western alliance.
"This is what my letter to Jens Stoltenberg on February 2018 was about, where, with reference to Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, I officially fixed Ukraine's aspirations to become a member of the alliance," Poroshenko wrote.
A Membership Action Plan is a multistage process of political dialogue and military reform to bring a country in line with NATO standards and to eventual membership.
The process can take several years.
Poroshenko's comments came after NATO updated its website to include Ukraine among three other countries -- Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, and Macedonia -- aspiring to NATO membership.
But a NATO official told RFE/RL that the alliance has not changed its position on Ukraine.
"NATO's policy remains the same," the official said. "There has been a change in Ukraine's policy, which the website reflects."
Under former President Viktor Yanukovych, Kyiv said it was not interested in joining NATO. But Kyiv has sought NATO membership since the 2014 antigovernment Maidan protests that toppled pro-Russian Yanukovych and ushered in a pro-Western government.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
This ends our live blogging for March 9. Be sure t check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.