Ukraine and Bulgaria have signed a joint declaration, which became the 22nd document supporting Ukraine's membership in NATO.

Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, notes on Facebook that the document clearly shows that Bulgaria supports Ukraine's membership in NATO as soon as conditions allow.

The joint declaration states that Bulgaria recognises that Ukraine's membership of NATO is the only way to ensure a sufficient level of security for both Ukraine and the entire Euro-Atlantic family.

"The Bulgarian side welcomes Ukraine's significant achievements in progressing towards Euro-Atlantic integration, in particular in achieving interoperability with NATO, reaffirms its intention to increase joint efforts to support Ukraine's integration into the Alliance and implementation of NATO standards, and fully supports the NATO-Ukraine Council." 

The declaration also reaffirms Bulgaria's readiness to continue to provide political and material support to Ukraine, both from the Alliance and bilaterally, for as long as necessary.

"Together with international organisations, allies and partners, Bulgaria reaffirms its readiness to participate in the post-war recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine," the document concludes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived with a visit to Bulgaria on Thursday.

As reported, Ukraine has formulated two specific expectations from the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, which are about membership and security guarantees, and will insist on their approval until the end.