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Former Ukrainian security chief says no chances for NATO membership over short term

"This country will have to build a combat-ready powerful army of its own," Igor Smeshko said

KIEV, July 5. /TASS/. Ukraine has lost an opportunity to get NATO membership over the short term, the former chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), Igor Smeshko told the ICTV channel on Monday as he commented on the summit of the North-Atlantic pact that will be held in Warsaw on July 8-9.

"Ukraine doesn’t have the chances to become a NATO member - in the short term as a minimum," he said. "This country will have to build a combat-ready powerful army of its own."

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Sarkozy slams idea of Ukraine’s NATO integration

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier he expected the latest information on developments in Ukraine from President Pyotr Poroshenko at a session of the NATO-Ukraine commission in Warsaw.

He said the pact and its allies would reaffirm the unbending political support to Ukraine, its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as a strong support to full compliance with the Minsk accords

Stoltenberg also said Kiev would get a broad package of practical aid, including strategic advice among other things.

He also said NATO was already providing assistance to Ukraine through various trust funds and this assistance embraced control, logistics and cyber-security. Also, NATO is going to added the projects related to much-spoken-of hybrid war, explosive devices, and strategic communications.

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