Ukraine may be invited to join NATO at any time - Stefanishyna
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said that an invitation to NATO for Ukraine remains on the Alliance's agenda and can be issued at any time.
She wrote about this in a column for NV dedicated to the results of the Washington NATO summit, Censor.NET reports.
Ukraine's membership in NATO
"The Allies have clearly stated that the path to NATO is irreversible for Ukraine. And this was the main message during the leaders' speeches at the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting at the highest level. To be honest, negotiations on the wording were not easy. However, together with our friends, we understood how important it was to establish that the future of Ukrainians cannot be a bargaining chip in negotiations with the aggressor. No threats, challenges or elections will change the fact that Ukraine's future lies in NATO. This is the aspiration of Ukrainians, because it is in the security interests of Europe, and the enlargement of the bloc cannot be a bargaining chip with the aggressor who has brought death and destruction to Europe. All 32 NATO countries have agreed to this, and, accordingly, changes to this decision will require a general consensus. An invitation to Ukraine remains on the agenda and can be extended at any time," she said.
"While we are waiting for this moment, Ukraine is becoming more and more militarily and politically integrated with the Alliance (which is also noted by the Allies). Ukraine's progress on the path of internal transformation, including security and defence reforms, which strengthen our defence capabilities and interoperability with the Alliance, was also highlighted. The US idea of the so-called "bridge" - for us it was fundamental that any new ideas and initiatives serve to bring us closer to membership - was embodied in the component of building the future structure of the defence forces, the interoperability roadmap, and a number of practical projects and programmes," Stefanishyna added.
Assistance to Ukraine
She stressed that another key decision of the summit was to guarantee long-term security assistance to Ukraine.
Among the summit's achievements, Stefanishyna named the agreement to provide Ukraine with dozens of short-range air defence systems and 5 Patriot and SAMP-T air defence systems.
"It was equally important to get clear commitments on combat aircraft. Without disclosing all the details, because we are at war, we were able to clearly state together with our allies that Ukraine will use F-16 aircraft (from Denmark and the Netherlands) this summer. And the Norwegian government has announced the transfer of six F-16 fighters to Ukraine at once," Stefanishyna stated.
NATO's mission for Ukraine
She also focused on the Security Assistance and Training Initiative for Ukraine (NSATU), known in the Ukrainian media as "NATO's mission for Ukraine".
"It is fundamentally important that decision-making on the supply of weapons and training of our defenders is quick and does not depend on political discussions among thirty-two allies. The warnings were heard and the new tool was developed taking into account the experience of the Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine and ongoing bilateral and multilateral efforts. To simplify communication and coordination of large-scale international projects for Ukraine, NATO is establishing a 'mission command' in Wiesbaden; a number of processes that have been 'manual' will be automated and accelerated. It is expected that NSATU will allow for more active use of the Alliance's logistics infrastructure. The Initiative is also expected to help transform Ukraine's defence and security forces by facilitating its entry into NATO's defence planning processes," Stefanishyna summarised.
