Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Marek Ziółkowski states that in NATO there is no division of countries into supporters or opponents of granting Ukraine membership in the Alliance.
He expressed this opinion in an interview with the newspaper "Den", noting that even in Ukraine there is no single concept on the issue of the status of relations with NATO.
He does not rule out that Ukraine can count on the launch of the "Membership Action Plan" (MAP) program, but for this it must fulfill all the political preambles to the currently active Ukraine-NATO Action Plan.
"Of course, the MAP level is possible, just as the level of intensified dialogue [the program that precedes MAP] is possible. One should also not rule out the preservation of the current format of the Action Plan and the annual Target Plan," Ziółkowski noted.
He also noted that discussions are still ongoing about the level of the Ukraine-NATO Commission meeting at the Istanbul summit, which is to take place in June 2004.
Ziółkowski noted that on the eve of this event it is necessary to fulfill "all internal tasks" referred to in the documents signed with NATO.
"Even the military reform is being done primarily for Ukraine itself, not for anyone else. We are very glad that this reform is going very successfully," Ziółkowski said.
"But there are remarks — they concern the fulfillment of the political preambles to the Action Plan. We need to know what level of fulfillment of the political preambles can be expected from the Ukrainian side," the Polish ambassador emphasized.
"Therefore, it is too early to speak about the future result of Ukraine's meeting with NATO at the Istanbul summit," he added.
Ziółkowski also emphasized the decisive role that the first visit of the new NATO Secretary General to Ukraine, which will take place in April this year, may have.
He also emphasized that the Polish side intends to invite the defense ministers of NATO countries and Ukraine to a conference in May in Warsaw, in order to clarify a month before the Istanbul summit what "the content of the dialogue between Ukraine and NATO should be."
"There are many possibilities, but there is no single concept. I can recall the very recent events, when everything was decided virtually in the last days — before the Prague summit of 2002. Now the atmosphere is completely different, and therefore there is no reason to particularly delay," he added.
Ziółkowski also denied that in NATO there are two groups of countries that differ fundamentally in their attitude toward Ukraine (Germany and the Netherlands unequivocally believe that it is too early for Ukraine to move to the MAP and that the level of annual plans is sufficient, while Poland, the US and Britain supposedly take a more positive attitude toward raising the level of Ukraine's cooperation).
"There are no 'triangles' or 'quadrilaterals' here. A discussion is ongoing — both among NATO ambassadors in Brussels and in Kyiv. There are no new axes, no 'old' or 'new' Europe. There is no division whatsoever — that some countries are more favorably disposed toward Ukraine and others less so," the Polish ambassador noted.
"There is, indeed, a search for a concept... The first is the maximal program that Ukraine can achieve — obtaining MAP status. The next concept is individual dialogue. Another, based on the Distinctive Partnership Charter, which was signed six years ago, could be called 'Distinctive Partnership for the sake of membership.' This is a new format. Why not introduce it?" Ziółkowski asked.
"The next approach is minimalist: everything can remain at the level of the Action Plan, cooperation will continue in the format of annual target plans," he added.
Ziółkowski noted that Poland leans toward the maximalist approach. "Toward rising to the MAP level in Ukraine-NATO relations. Some countries also support our concept, but all of this is being discussed. It will depend on the political realities of this dialogue," the ambassador noted.