"Ukraine's future lies within NATO family, but after the war ends" – Stoltenberg
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has expressed his belief that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance in the future.
Ukraine's priority now "is the establishment of itself as a sovereign and independent state, he said to Welt media.
They note that during the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, an aid package designed to bring Ukraine up to Alliance standards over several years will be approved.
This will bring Ukraine closer to NATO, the Alliance leader emphasized.
Political ties between NATO and Ukraine will be intensified, Stoltenberg noted.
We must make sure that when this war ends, there will be reliable agreements on the security of Ukraine so that Russia cannot rearm and attack again so that the cycle of Russian aggression is broken, he added.
At the July NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukraine also seeks to achieve clear wording regarding the prospect of membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, instead criticizing the decision of the 2008 Bucharest summit, which is "detached from reality as much as possible."
US President Joe Biden stated that he is not going to simplify the requirements for Ukraine on the way to NATO.
According to POLITICO, support for simplifying the conditions for Ukraine's membership in NATO is growing among Alliance members. This makes it more likely that the proposal will become official during the NATO summit.
Following Ukraine's pledge of accession to NATO on September 30, 2022, the state's government appealed to members of the Assembly to speed up the process on April 30 during growing tensions with Russia.
Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, during a telephone conversation with Stoltenberg, called for a step towards Ukraine's membership in NATO in Vilnius by removing the Membership Action Plan.
Stoltenberg suggested the members of the Alliance agree that Ukraine can join NATO after the war without implementing the MAP, which is a series of reforms that the applicant country must implement before joining the Alliance.
