The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the country's security can only be guaranteed by accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"We are convinced that the only real guarantee of security for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent to further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is Ukraine's full membership in NATO," the statement read.
Additionally, the ministry pointed out that Kiev will not agree to any alternative formats to membership. "With the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind us, we will not accept any alternatives, surrogates or substitutes for Ukraine's full membership in NATO," it stressed and urged the United States, the United Kingdom, "and all states-parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons" to back Ukraine's invitation to NATO immediately.
