KIEV, July 21 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Monday to help Ukraine implement reforms to bring the former Soviet republic into NATO, a prospect strongly opposed by Russia.

"We are proceeding from the fact that one day Ukraine will become a member of NATO," Merkel told reporters after meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko, The Associated Press reported.

Merkel said Germany and other NATO countries will work with Ukraine on a "navigation plan" to guide Ukraine toward membership in the Western alliance. In order to join, Ukraine will have to upgrade its Soviet-style army in line with Western military standards, fight corruption and promote civil society.

Earlier this year, a NATO summit denied Ukraine a Membership Action Plan, seen as a roadmap toward joining. But the summit promised Ukraine eventual membership.

That decision was seen as Russia's success in lobbying Western European countries, mainly Germany and France, who cited hostility toward the alliance among many Ukrainians and the country's main opposition parties as well as the need for further reform.

The two countries were seen as reluctant to anger Russia, which supplies Europe with some 35% of the European Union's natural gas imports and which has fiercely protested Ukraine's efforts to join NATO.

Merkel, however, stressed that the issue of Ukraine's membership does not concern anyone else.

"It cannot be that other countries that don't belong to the alliance are discussing this issue," Merkel said. "It is a question for Ukraine and NATO."

Merkel also said that Ukraine has made strong progress toward further integration with the European Union.

A new partnership deal is due to be discussed at the next E.U.-Ukraine summit in France in September. But, referring to the possibility of eventual membership, Merkel said: "This question is not on the agenda."

"This (September) agreement will not only mean a strengthened partnership. It can also qualify as an associate member agreement," Merkel said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko after talks.

Merkel said the E.U.'s current internal disputes prevented further enlargement of the bloc for the time being. "I told the president that I am not one of those people who makes promises that are impossible to realize," Merkel said.

Merkel also reiterated her support for Kiev's eventual membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but didn't say whether Berlin would support Kiev's bid to gain official candidate status at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December. (ap/afp/ez)