MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said the accession of Georgia and Ukraine to NATO should be preceded by reforms in these countries, which will be determined by NATO structures.
"It is important that they conduct some reforms first. These reforms will be determined by the appropriate NATO bodies and implemented within each of these countries," the minister said in an interview published in the Friday edition of Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
"As for the NATO policies on Georgia and Ukraine, there is an agreement that was reached at the Bucharest summit in 2008, namely, that the doors into the alliance remain open to these countries," said the minister.
Yung said he does not condemn any of the parties to the conflict that occurred in South Ossetia in August 2008.
"The causes of last year's conflict in the Caucasus are complex and none of the parties can be condemned. Moreover, we should work together to restore and improve our ability to conduct dialogue with all of the parties involved. Successful conflict settlement is possible through dialogue," he said.
Yung said that the deployment of missile defense systems in Europe is not aimed against Russia and Germany proposes to involve Russia in this process.