She stated this in an interview to RBC-Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.
"Undoubtedly, there is a path between the invitation and membership. I think that now is the right time to address this issue. Why? Because we already have some experience of this war as a country. We already know all the capabilities regarding the coordination of military support. We must look to the future and plan more strategically. I am confident that the invitation is precisely an opportunity to form individual agreements with each ally regarding what Ukraine's membership in NATO will look like," the government official said.
Stefanishyna also explained this timeliness by the fact that Ukraine maintained full administrative and institutional capacity during the war; all branches of government are functioning at all levels and reforms are being implemented.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that Kyiv will seek an invitation even earlier than at the NATO summit in The Hague in 2025: "On October 1, the new NATO Secretary General takes office, and his first visit to Ukraine will undoubtedly be dedicated to a political decision."
The Ukrainian official stressed that the invitation is a serious intention to talk about the future.
"Of course, we will not remove this issue from the agenda, and as the President says, it will remain on the agenda for as long as necessary to make a decision. However, the invitation is also a decision that can be made at any moment, regardless of the summit," Stefanishyna noted.
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According to her, Ukraine will never raise the issue of certain restrictions or redistributions in the matter of NATO membership and should not propose any solutions.
"Ukraine is within the borders of 1991, a sovereign, independent country that joins NATO. At the stage when the issue of ratifying the decision on Ukraine's accession to NATO arises, we will communicate with everyone, and this process will be open and public. Still, at this stage, no format has been created between Ukraine and the allies where such discussions could take place, " said the government official.
As reported by Ukrinform, the 75th NATO summit was held in July in Washington.
