Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State, said this at a briefing on Monday, July 1, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"You have seen this Secretary of State and this President talk about how we believe that it is important there be a bridge to Ukraine's membership in NATO. Of course, this bilateral security agreement is not a replacement for that [Ukraine's membership in NATO]," he said.
At the same time, according to Patel, the U.S. views the agreement as "part of that bridge to one day Ukraine being able to join NATO."
He added that the United States supports and affirms NATO's open-door policy.
The anniversary NATO summit at the level of heads of state will be held in Washington on July 9-11. President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to lead the Ukrainian delegation.
