President Viktor Yushchenko has told NATO that Ukraine is seeking long-term integration with both the 26-member defence alliance and the European Union without harming Kiev's ties to Russia.
"We would like to see Ukraine integrated into the EU and NATO," Mr Yushchenko said after meeting US President George W. Bush and leaders of the other NATO countries at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
"I would like to clearly stress again that Russia is our strategic partner," he told a news conference through an interpreter. He gave no target dates for joining either NATO or the 25-member EU.
Mr Yushchenko, the only leader from outside NATO invited to meet alliance leaders today, has tried to forge a new relationship with both the West and Russia since his inauguration in late January.
NATO Secretary-General Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO had an "open-door policy" on entry to whichever European democracies fulfilled its membership criteria. But he also gave no target date for Ukraine's NATO entry or the start of talks.
He stressed that an existing partnership agreement between Kiev and the alliance could be used to develop co-operation.