The NATO Secretary General stated the conditions for Ukraine’s entry into the Alliance

There is a difference between an invitation to join NATO and an invitation to join the European Union.

This was said by the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Brussels, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

Stoltenberg reminded that at the summit in Vilnius all allies agreed that Ukraine would be a member of NATO.

“Last year we made an important decision, we removed the Membership Action Plan. We must support the process in one step, removed the MAP. This is the difference between NATO and the European Union. If you are invited to the European Union, it can take years from the invitation to membership. Meanwhile, as in NATO, when you are invited, it will happen soon,” said the Secretary General.

READ ALSO: Ukraine and NATO: Zelensky made an important statement

“But regardless of these technical points, there is a clear obligation for Ukraine to become a member of NATO. Further, you must understand that when this war ends, there must be some guarantees that it will not happen again, that it will not be a pause during which Russia will recover, rest, and then regroup and attack again,” Stoltenberg said.

The Secretary General of NATO said that after the Russian Federation occupied Crimea in 2014, the Russians “waited almost eight years” and launched a full-scale invasion.

“Therefore, of course, this war will end, we must be absolutely sure that this is really the end, that it will stop here. Therefore, we must help Ukraine build its own defense,” Stoltenberg said, adding that “Article 5 will be a guarantee of security.”