MUNICH, February 17. /TASS/. Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani believes that Ukraine's immediate accession to NATO would be "dangerous for everyone.

"At this moment it [Ukraine's accession to NATO] would be dangerous for everybody, because you are at war with Russia," he said at one of the discussions at the Munich Security Conference in the presence of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. In this way he responded to a question from a Ukrainian representative in the audience why Ukraine's admission to NATO was impossible during a time of conflict.

"This would lead to the involvement of NATO countries. We need to be careful about this," Tajani said. He noted the importance of NATO's cooperation with Ukraine, which, he remarked, in itself is "a signal to Russia."

In September 2022, Ukraine applied for fast-tracked admission to NATO. At the alliance's summit in Vilnius in July 2023 it heard assurances that it would be accepted when the necessary conditions are met. NATO standards are being introduced in the country's armed forces, and commissioned officers will be obliged to be fluent in English. No timetable for admission has been established in Brussels, though. The organization has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine's accession to NATO would be impossible as long as the country was in a state of an armed conflict.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kiev was trying to exert pressure on NATO countries on the issue of receiving an invitation to the alliance. He warned that Ukraine's possible accession would entail extremely negative consequences for European security and evoke a firm response from Russia.