Ukraine's FM calls for NATO membership without action plan
Under the current circumstances, the NATO membership action plan should no longer be a mandatory element on Ukraine's path to the North Atlantic Alliance.
Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, stated this in Kyiv at a joint briefing with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"We believe that the MAP should no longer be considered an element on the way to membership. It is a mechanism that has outlived itself and should not be applied to Ukraine," emphasized the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Kuleba believes that under the current circumstances, providing Ukraine with a MAP has already lost its relevance as the next step on the way to NATO.
As reported, Finland and Sweden have started the accession procedure without the MAP stage.
The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs also considers Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance inevitable.
"It will happen sooner or later because it is impossible to protect the Euro-Atlantic space without Ukraine. And we must change the opinion of those who believe that membership should happen better later than before," Kuleba emphasized.
It should be noted that the official meeting of Kuleba and Tsakhkna is dedicated to the preparation for Ukraine's participation in the upcoming Vilnius NATO summit.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he only considers it necessary to go to the summit if member states are ready to grant Ukraine full membership in the Alliance.
In turn, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated that NATO does not threaten the security of the Russian Federation but Russian imperialism while refuting the Russian narrative regarding the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance.
For reference:
As Rubryka wrote, on June 2, the head of Estonia, Alar Karis, arrived in the capital of Ukraine on an official visit, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Karis noted on social networks that Estonia supports the creation of a special international tribunal to bring Russia to justice for crimes in Ukraine.
The President of Estonia added that the meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv is an opportunity to confirm Ukraine's iron support on the battlefield and in the pursuit of EU and NATO membership.