MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov acknowledged that Kiev will not be able to gain NATO membership for now.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Reznikov also reiterated a request to NATO leaders, who will gather in Vilnius on July 11-12 for the bloc’s annual summit, to promote Ukraine's application for membership in the alliance. "We are aware that during the hot phase [of the conflict], it is unlikely to make a unanimous political decision," he stated. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba noted that Kiev is waiting for a "clear signal" on the matter from the leaders of the 30-member North Atlantic Alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on June 19 that the NATO summit in Vilnius planned to bring Ukraine closer to the alliance, by establishing a Ukraine-NATO Council and ensuring a multi-year program of military supplies for Kiev.

Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the statements being voiced by Kiev about joining NATO demonstrate the Ukrainian authorities’ unwillingness and inability to resolve the conflict at the negotiating table. He noted that Russia would seek to ensure its own security and this necessarily excludes NATO expansion through the accession of Ukraine to the alliance, which would bring it right up to Russia’s borders. According to Peskov, this topic has been an irritant for many years and many European countries are aware of it.