MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the statement, Stoltenberg will attend Yavoriv training center near Ukraine’s border with Poland to take part in the opening ceremony of the joint drills between Ukraine and NATO on the liquidation of consequences of emergencies.
Stoltenberg will also participate in the session of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).
Last year, Ukraine dropped its neutral status to open the way toward membership in the US-led military bloc, but NATO’s former Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Kiev needed to meet certain criteria before it could join.
On September 2, NSDC endorsed a new military doctrine that called for the country to pursue NATO membership. President Petro Poroshenko estimated it will take Ukraine five years to upgrade its military to the level expected from NATO membership applicants.
Ukraine is active participant of joint military exercises with NATO states including the Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident-2015 and the naval drills Sea Breeze that took place this year.
