BERLIN, September 17. /TASS/. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine will eventually join the alliance without specifying when it could happen.

"There is no doubt that Ukraine will eventually join NATO," he said in an interview published by newspapers of Germany’s Funke Media Group.

"No one knows" when military actions in Ukraine will end, Secretary General noted. "Most wars last longer than suggested at the very beginning, which is why we should be prepared for a long war in Ukraine. We all want quick peace," he said.

Stoltenberg believes that if Ukraine stops struggling "it will no longer exist." Whereas if Russia stops military actions peace will come, he added.

Following NATO’s summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, the alliance’s chief announced that the allies had adopted a package of three elements bringing Ukraine closer to NATO. Leaders decided to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, they also committed to offering multi-year military assistance to Kiev and agreed to establish the NATO-Ukraine Council. NATO said in its final statement that the alliance would issue an invitation for Ukraine to join it when allies agree and conditions are met.