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NATO may offer Ukraine deferred membership in 2025, top Portuguese diplomat says

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated earlier that the only security guarantee the country could accept would be full-fledged NATO membership

MADRID, December 4. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Alliance may invite Ukraine to join the bloc at its summit in The Hague in 2025 without specifying a timeframe for when it will become an official member, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said.

He pointed out that NATO members would discuss "the issue of [Ukraine] joining the alliance, without setting a timeframe." "Let’s hope that a consensus will be achieved on the issue so that the ministers issue a recommendation instead of <...> approving immediate membership," Portugal’s Diario de Noticias newspaper quoted him as saying.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated earlier that the only security guarantee the country could accept would be full-fledged NATO membership.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out earlier that resolving the Ukraine conflict required Kiev to withdraw troops from Donbass and Novorossiya and abandon plans to join NATO. Ukraine also needs to ensure full respect for the rights, freedoms and interests of Russian-speaking citizens. In addition, Moscow believes that all Western sanctions on Russia must be removed and Ukraine’s non-bloc and non-nuclear status must be guaranteed.

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