Prospective for Ukraine, Georgia to join NATO confirmed at top political level in Alliance – NATO Dpty Secretary General

KYIV. Aug 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană considers the "open door" policy one of the most successful in the history of the Alliance and recalls that the decision to join NATO for Ukraine and Georgia was confirmed at the highest level.

"The decision for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO is there and it has been reconfirmed at the top political level in the Alliance – NATO Deputy Secretary General. I am encouraging our Ukrainian friends to stay the course and to continue to prepare through domestic reforms that are still needed for decisions down the road," Geoană told Interfax-Ukraine.

He said the open door policy is one of the most successful policies in NATO history.

"Many countries have joined the Alliance since the end of Communism. The open door policy is also in the Washington Treaty, so it is part of our constitution. Decisions of Bucharest Summit are there. They were taken by Allies and they stand. I think that the most important political reconfirmation of the Open Door Policy and also the prospective of Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO were reconfirmed by NATO leaders at the Brussels summit just a few months ago. So this is something which is real," Geoană said.

According to him, in order to reach this, there is always a combination of factors, such as the state of reforms in the candidate countries and, on the other hand, political consensus.

"So there is not an automaticity to this issue per say but there is always an encouragement we make and I make personally to countries like Ukraine to continue to stay on the course of reforms, to continue to engage with NATO on as many fronts as possible. The Enhanced Opportunity Partner status is a massive positive step in the right direction. And I am looking to the way in which Georgia which has received this status a little bit earlier and has been using this is very important," he said.

When asked what role the Russian factor plays for NATO in deciding on an action plan for NATO membership for Ukraine, the Deputy Secretary General said the very essence of NATO and the EU lies in the fact that they exist on the fundamental assumption that the period of spheres of influence in Europe disappeared forever.

"This is not the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a third party that is leading this effort but it’s the fundamental principle that sovereign nations should be in the situation to choose their destiny according to the sovereign right to choose their direction. And if Ukraine chooses, and the people of Ukraine and the leadership of Ukraine are choosing to go towards the Western institutions this is something that we encourage and support. It is not up to anybody else to dictate to its neighbors or to anyone else in Europe which is the destiny they choose. This is something which is the very essence of who we are and what we represent," he said.