RBC-UKRAINE
UKRAINE, MON, SEPTEMBER 02, 2024 – 12:14
Olha Stefanishyna (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
AUTHOR: MILAN LELICH, MARIA KHOLINA
Ukraine will join the North Atlantic Alliance as a sovereign, independent country within its borders of 1991. No other options have been discussed, according to Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
When asked about joining NATO “in parts,” meaning territories that Ukraine currently controls de facto, Stefanishyna said, “I do not believe that Ukraine should offer any solutions now until the allies propose Ukrainian membership in the Alliance.”
According to her, Ukraine will listen to all allies and negotiate with each of the 32 NATO member states.
“We will never raise the issue of certain limitations or redistribution regarding NATO membership. Ukraine will join NATO within its 1991 borders, a sovereign, independent country,” she said.
Stefanishyna explained that when the time comes to ratify the decision to admit Ukraine to NATO, Kyiv will communicate with everyone, and this process will be open and public. “But at this stage, no format has been created between Ukraine and the allies where such discussions can take place,” she added.
In August 2024, an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians continue to show their unwillingness to meet Russia’s demands to end the war.
According to a survey by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center, only 9% of Ukrainians are willing to recognize the occupied territories as part of Russia to stop the war, while 81% consider this unacceptable.
Regarding future NATO membership, 18.5% of Ukrainians expressed willingness to compromise, but the majority (67%) find this unacceptable.
For the vast majority of Ukrainians, refusing EU membership is also unacceptable (71%), with only 17% willing to compromise.
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Will Ukraine push for NATO membership in 2025 – Government insights
UKRAINE, MON, SEPTEMBER 02, 2024 – 12:11
Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
AUTHOR: MILAN LELICH, DARIA DMYTRIIEVA
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanishyna, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine stated that Ukraine will seek an invitation to NATO before the Alliance summit, which will take place in The Hague in 2025. This decision can be made at any time, regardless of the summit.
“We will do this earlier because on October 1st, the new NATO Secretary General takes office, and his first visit to Ukraine will undoubtedly be dedicated to a political decision,” she said.
Stefanishyna pointed out that after a country is invited to NATO, the protocols of accession are ratified. This requires 32 decisions by each country’s parliaments, governments, or presidents. “We saw this process in Sweden and Finland. Finland went through it instantaneously – this is the so-called Finnish miracle – but Sweden had to implement a number of very difficult decisions on its path to this ratification, and these were not only related to changes in legislation,” the Deputy Prime Minister explained.
According to her, an invitation is a serious commitment to discussing the future. “And, of course, we will not remove this issue from the agenda, and as the President says, it will remain on the agenda for as long as necessary to make a decision,” she said.
However, the invitation is also a decision that can be made at any time, regardless of the summit, Stefanishyna added.
“Ukraine’s NATO membership issue will not be removed from the agenda because the allies have determined this path is irreversible. The issue of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations has always been on the agenda at all meetings at all levels with colleagues from the USA, and this will not change on the Ukrainian side. I believe that the issue of inviting Ukraine to NATO is, in itself, an element of deterring Russian aggression,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
It should be noted that two-thirds of Ukrainians (64%) consider joining the European Union and NATO equally important for the country. At the same time, 7% prioritize Ukraine’s European integration, and 12% say that NATO membership is more important at the moment. Ukraine has not yet received an invitation to join NATO.
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I think anyone still thinking of NATO for Ukraine are nuts. There’s no benefit. Ukraine can get NATO standards without belonging to it. My only caveat…don’t join NATO unless there is a fundamental shift in the way NATO operates.
Nato operates just fine. For its members it’s brilliant and a great putler deterrent.
The problem is that whilst Nato membership provides everything that Ukraine wants and needs for its security, many of its top members, including the US, Germany and France, refuse to let Ukraine join.
Biden insultingly deployed the “corruption” excuse. This despite the fact that its membership contains members that are far more corrupt than Ukraine : Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, Bulgaria, etc.
Respectfully disagree. As long as they need unanimous votes on everything important and you have ass wipes like Hungary you got nothing except bloated structure in Brussels. Yes Ukraine needs an alliance but not NATO NATO has no conception of the threats that exist. Another organization that has lived out it’s usefulness