Kiev Delivers Ultimatum to NATO: We Need Security Guarantees

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klymkin said security guarantees from NATO were absolutely critical for Kiev.

KIEV (Sputnik) – Kiev will be “forced to look for other variants” if it fails to obtain security guarantees from NATO, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klymkin said Friday.

“I have always said absolutely frankly that participation in security structures and security guarantees are absolutely critical for us. But if Ukraine fails to obtain guarantees from the alliance, then we will be forced to look for other variants.”

The foreign minister added that Ukraine's admission to NATO did not depend solely on Kiev, but also on the North Atlantic Alliance, whose member states lack consensus on a number of issues.

In December 2014, the Ukrainian parliament voted to scrap the country's non-aligned status and seek NATO membership. The bill was signed into law by President Petro Poroshenko later that month.

President Poroshenko said that the country would decide on joining NATO, as well as the European Union, through a referendum to be held within 6 years.