“Bridge to NATO” means we are not allowed on the road” – political analyst on the prospects of the summit
10 July 2024 12:00
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
The NATO summit in Washington, D.C., which began on 9 July, put the issue of Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance back on the agenda. However, according to international political scientist Gennadiy Druzenko, the situation has remained unchanged since 2008.
“Unfortunately, nothing has changed in NATO. Since 2008, we have been in the same place: Ukraine will be in NATO. It is not known when it will be, and it is not known if it will live,”
– he said in an exclusive comment to Komersant Ukrainskyi
.
Druzenko is critical of the US promises of a “bridge” to NATO membership, which Ukraine may receive officially as a result of the summit. In his opinion, this could be a “bridge to nowhere”.
“A bridge means that we are not allowed on the road. If you put aside the diplomatic language and read the statements of the 2008 or 2014 summits, it’s all about the fact that we have not taken a single step,”
– the political scientist emphasised.
Meanwhile, NATO has come up with new wording regarding Ukraine’s membership: presumably, instead of “bridge” the statement will probably refer to “irreversibility”.
The expert believes that Ukraine has chosen the wrong strategy by publicly declaring its intention to join NATO. He cites the example of Finland, which “prepared itself and, when the window of opportunity opened, joined in six months”.
As for Ukraine’s prospects, Druzenko is pessimistic:
“NATO is not ready to fight for Ukraine, they tell us this off the record in a straightforward way. Accordingly, as long as we are at war and do not find a way to end the war, talk about NATO will be support and a pat on the back: well done, keep going.”
The expert emphasises that individual NATO member states will continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but “none of them is ready to meet Russia on the battlefield”.
Ukraine-NATO
Relations between Ukraine and NATO began shortly after Ukraine gained independence in 1991. In 1994, Ukraine joined the Partnership for Peace programme, which was the first step towards cooperation with the Alliance. In 1997, the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between Ukraine and NATO was signed, which defined the main areas of cooperation.
An important milestone was reached at the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit, where it was declared that Ukraine and Georgia would become members of the Alliance in the future, although no specific timeline was set.
After the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and the outbreak of Russian aggression, cooperation between Ukraine and NATO intensified significantly. Ukraine was granted NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Partner status in 2020.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 further strengthened cooperation. NATO countries provide Ukraine with significant military, financial and humanitarian assistance. However, despite Ukraine’s aspirations for full membership in the Alliance and NATO’s continued support for Ukraine, the issue of accession remains a subject of debate and diplomatic negotiations.
At the Vilnius Summit in 2023, it was announced that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance without MAP.
