The Foreign Ministry commented on Zaluzhny's remarks about Ukraine's prospects for joining NATO.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi commented on the statement by Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who recently said that he does not consider Ukraine's course toward NATO membership, enshrined in Ukraine's Constitution, to be promising, according to Європейська правда.

Tykhyi, in turn, said that the ambassador's words about the prospects of Ukraine's NATO membership "were taken out of context and resonated, although the full quote was primarily about the JEF, not NATO."

"This is logical, since the UK is the framework state and leader of the JEF. As for NATO membership, this direction is handled by the Mission of Ukraine to NATO. To prevent manipulation, I will restate our long-standing official position: Ukraine's course toward joining the North Atlantic Alliance remains unchanged. Today, there is no other effective collective security system except the one based on the Washington Treaty", the Foreign Ministry representative said.

He expressed confidence that there is no alternative to Ukraine's NATO membership if the Allies seek to ensure guaranteed security and peace in the Euro-Atlantic area.

"A security architecture in Europe is impossible without Ukraine – that is the reality. Awareness of this will help build consensus in the Alliance regarding our nation's membership. And this awareness is growing. Evidence of this is the outcome document of this year's NATO Summit in Ankara, where Ukraine is recognized as a contributor to Euro-Atlantic security", Tykhyi added.

Earlier, 10 members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (i.e., the JEF) signed a memorandum of intent on creating a "multinational maritime force" that will serve as a "complement to NATO."

Ukraine has already joined the expanded partnership agreement with the JEF.