Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday, Reuters reports, that Ukraine is working to take a “big and reliable step” towards joining NATO at a summit in Washington in July.

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said last month that she does not expect the Alliance to invite Ukraine to become a member of the Euro-Atlantic organization at the summit in Washington.

Responding to questions about Ukraine’s goals at the July summit, Dmytro Kuleba replied that he would not go into the details of the discussions, but specified that there was “very active interaction” with the leadership of NATO and allied states, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

“We believe that Ukraine meets the main criteria for membership – the ability to defend NATO’s borders. This is what we do to protect Ukraine,” the Ukrainian government official told reporters.

“I want to say that we are working hard to take a big and firm step towards Ukraine’s accession to NATO at the summit in Washington,” Dmytro Kuleba added.

After the summit in Vilnius last summer, Kuleba expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting and assessed that from a psychological point of view his country is already part of the North Atlantic Alliance.

“I overcame the psychological barrier and see that Ukraine is really considered a member of NATO,” said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy in an interview with his country’s public television channel.

He clarified that behind the scenes, everyone gave him new assurances that Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance will take place, the only question is when.

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