All NATO countries support the idea of Ukraine joining the alliance, but it is not yet possible to answer the question about the timing, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday.

“First of all, all NATO allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance. All allies agree that Ukraine has the right to choose its own path, that it is not for Moscow, but for Kyiv, to decide. And thirdly, all allies agree that NATO’s door remains open. Then the question is when, and I cannot give you a timetable on that,” Stoltenberg said, answering the question about a realistic way for Ukraine to join NATO.

As Stoltenberg noted, “we are now working with them [Ukraine], to help them transition from Soviet-era equipment, doctrines and standards to NATO doctrines and standards, to make their armed forces interoperable with NATO forces, and to help them to further reform and modernize their defense and security institutions.”

At the same time, the NATO Secretary General once again stressed that “the urgent task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation, because if Ukraine doesn’t prevail, then there is no issue to discuss at all.”