Ukraine rejects alternative guarantees for NATO membership – MFA

On December 3, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official statement regarding potential security assurances that may deter Russian aggression, coinciding with the NATO ministerial meeting.

This is stated in the MFA document, which is at the disposal of the "European Pravda."

"We are convinced that the only real security guarantee for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent for further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is only Ukraine's full membership in NATO," the MFA notes.

The document also clarifies that Ukraine does not accept any alternatives to membership beforehand.

"Having the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind our shoulders, we will not accept any alternatives, surrogates, or substitutes for Ukraine's full membership in NATO," the MFA emphasizes.

The foreign ministry appeals to "the USA and Great Britain, which signed the Budapest Memorandum, to France and China, which joined it, to all states party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," with an appeal to politically support Ukraine's invitation to NATO now, which will be an "effective countermeasure to Russian blackmail."

The Ministry also wants to emphasize that this issue extends beyond just Ukraine and European security. The attack on Ukraine, which goes against the 1994 agreements, has damaged trust in the concept of nuclear disarmament and has spurred efforts by multiple countries in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East to either establish or increase their nuclear arsenals within the Euro–Atlantic region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine's statement emphasizes that it was made "on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum."

"The memorandum was supposed to be a significant step in strengthening global nuclear disarmament and serve as an example for other states in abandoning nuclear weapons… However, it failed to prevent aggression by the Russian Federation, as a state possessing nuclear weapons, against Ukraine, as a state that has abandoned its nuclear arsenal," the foreign ministry says.

The foreign ministry calls the Budapest Memorandum "a monument to short-sightedness in making strategic security decisions." It emphasizes that "building a European security architecture at the expense of Ukraine's interests, and not taking them into account, is doomed to failure."

Recently, President Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out that the main challenge in potential peace talks with Russia is determining who will negotiate, as Russia currently shows no desire for peace. Additionally, the Ukrainian leader is hopeful that the Biden administration will prioritize bringing Ukraine closer to receiving a NATO invitation.

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During an interview with SkyNews, Zelensky discussed the potential for halting the war's active fighting. He expressed that for this to happen, NATO should begin protecting the areas currently under Ukraine's control. As for the other territories, the president believes they should be regained through diplomatic means.

However, Zelensky stressed that such an offer was never made to Ukraine. According to him, the invitation to NATO itself should fix Ukraine's internationally recognized borders. But no one offered Ukraine membership in NATO in any way.

"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take the territory of Ukraine controlled by us under the NATO umbrella. We need to do it quickly. And then Ukraine will be able to return the occupied territories through diplomatic channels," Zelensky said.

As Rubryka previously reported, Ukraine called on NATO to invite it to join the Alliance at a meeting to be held on December 3-4 in Brussels.