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German chancellor says Ukraine’s NATO membership not on agenda

Olaf Scholz spoke against "a military standoff about an issue which is not even on the agenda"

BERLIN, February 16. /TASS/. Ukraine’s NATO membership is not on the alliance’s agenda at the moment, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told German reporters after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"There is a fact, and the fact is: all parties know that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not on the agenda," the German leader said at a news conference, broadcast by WELT.

He went on to say that in this situation "everyone should step back a bit," and spoke against "a military standoff about an issue which is not even on the agenda."

Scholz made similar statements during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said earlier that Kiev wants to have a NATO Membership Action Plan already in 2022. In February 2019, the country’s Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, adopted constitutional amendments committing to paper Ukraine’s intention to join NATO. The country has been granted the Enhanced Opportunities Partner status.

According to the final statement of the NATO summit on June 14, 2021, Ukraine and Georgia can be admitted to the alliance in future. At the same time, it says nothing either about when it could happen or about when they would be granted NATO Membership Action Plans.

On December 17, 2021, the Russian foreign ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States, and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. The proposed measures include guarantees that NATO will not advance eastward, including the accession of Ukraine and other countries into the alliance, as well as non-deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones.

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