Chairman of the Parliament`s European Integration Committee responds to the statement by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that Ukraine`s membership will not be decided in the near term.

"This is a very unfortunate statement, though not a surprising one. Everyone has seen over the past months and years that, in reality, NATO no longer intends to expand along its eastern borders.

What is particularly regrettable is that one of the reasons the war began is precisely linked to NATO enlargement.

For years, the country was made to fight, was pushed into conflict, was devastated, and endured immense tragedy, and today it turns out this was merely the misleading of the population through false promises. It was the sacrifice of the country on such a scale based on false expectations. If there is anything a country should rely on, it is its own strength, its own capabilities, and its own positions", - said Levan Makhashvili.

The NATO Secretary General said that "the issue of Ukraine joining the alliance will not be resolved in the short term", suggesting that "membership discussions are unlikely to advance in the near future".