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Former U.S. ambassador Pifer: Ukraine has 'zero' chance to advance in NATO if snap election called

Former U.S. ambassador Pifer: Ukraine has 'zero' chance to advance in NATO if snap election called

September 28, 2008 at 12:49 | Ukrainian News
Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer does not think that Ukraine will join the NATO Membership Action Plan in December if early parliamentary elections are called in the country.





"I must say that if the Verkhovna Rada gets dissolved in October and snap parliamentary elections are called, a chance that Ukraine will obtain the MAP in December equals to zero," Pifer, ambassador to Ukraine from 1998 to 2000, commented.

Pifer also thinks it is possible that Ukraine will join the MAP only formally in the event Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych becomes the prime minister.

Pfeiffer said that Yanukovych, as prime minister, did not support Ukraine's accession to the MAP but, nonetheless, concrete joint projects of Ukraine and NATO were moved forward.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on April 3, the NATO summit in Bucharest (Romania) postponed consideration of Ukraine's and Georgia's accession to the MAP until December.

President Victor Yuschenko hopes that NATO member-countries will support a decision to invite Ukraine to join the MAP in December because of the conflict in Georgia.

Steven Pifer, the thirdU.S. ambassador to Ukraine, is a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.


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