Ukraine does not intend to force its entry into NATO, but will carry out reforms aimed at joining the European Union, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych told the Lithuanian mass media on the eve of his official visit to Lithuania, informs GHN referring to UKRINFORM.
"Ukraine is not really eager to get into NATO," Yanukovych said in an interview with Lithuanian newspaper Lietuvos Zinios, noting that the relations with the Alliance will be actively developing.
Earlier, the President said, Ukraine was "hostage to forced integration into NATO", and now "Ukraine is interested in the maintenance of mutually beneficial relationship with both the West and the East." "I would call it a policy of strategic balance," Yanukovych said, stressing that European integration remains a priority of Ukrainian foreign policy.
"When exactly Ukraine will become an EU member is a matter of time. We realize that the huge responsibility for this rests not with the EU but with Ukraine. The desire of the community to adopt Ukraine will depend on how quickly and accurately, with the assistance of Brussels, we conduct the necessary reforms," the President said.
