KIEV, January 13. /TASS/. Wednesday’s talks between NATO and Russia did not change the parties’ approach to Ukraine’s NATO accession and Kiev received no guarantees of its future membership, head of Ukraine’s Trety Sektor (or Third Sector) think tank Andrey Zolotarev told TASS.
"No one gave any guarantees to Ukraine," he said, commenting on the Brussels meeting of the Russia-NATO Council. "Kiev heard nothing new as all parties stuck to their positions. It means that nothing will change for Ukraine," the expert pointed out.
According to him, the same goes for efforts to resolve the conflict in Donbass. "Finding a peaceful solution to the Donbass is still an issue to be resolved, the process has come to a standstill and time is not on Ukraine’s side here. NATO’s position clearly is to play for time and prolong the dialogue, which runs counter to Russia’s position," Zolotarev noted.
"In the future, the impasse in dialogue may lead to a rise in tensions both between Russia and NATO, and in Donbass," he added.
NATO Secretary General said at a briefing following the meeting that Ukraine was not a NATO member and Article 5 of the NATO treaty did not apply to it. As for the prospects for Ukraine’s NATO accession, he noted that every country was free to choose its own path and NATO allies were ready to support Kiev on that path.