NATO hopes to include Ukraine in few years – bloc's deputy chief
Заступник генсека НАТО Мірча Джоане. Фото: NATO
NATO deputy chief Mircena Geoană suggests the bloc will expand its eastern borders in a few years, the Ziua de Vest outlet reports.
The bloc's representative made the statement during the presentation of his book "The Battle for Romania's Future: Thoughts from a Romanian at the Top of NATO", mentioning the Ukraine war.
Geoană is convinced that in the coming years, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans will become part of the European community, and later members of the Euro-Atlantic bloc.
Romania will soon no longer be NATO's eastern border, and the Alliance's border will move eastward.
"It is time for Romania to finally escape from the periphery of Europe and put itself in the center of Europe in terms of importance," the NATO official said.
He added that France, Germany, Poland, and Romania form a natural powerful quadrangle.
Ukraine's accession to EU
On September 30 last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky and the parliament members signed Ukraine's application for NATO membership under an expedited procedure.
This year, a NATO summit was held in Vilnius on July 11 and 12, with Ukraine as one of the main topics.
In the final communiqué of the summit, published on the Alliance's website, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance recognized Ukraine's progress on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration and confirmed that Ukraine's future lies in NATO.
Despite Russia's full-scale aggression and the daily challenges of war, the Ministry of Defense continues to develop professional education among Ukrainian troops. The bloc's DEEP program, which has already been completed by 12,000 servicemen helps it to do so.
