NATO recalls the old “excuse” for not inviting Ukraine
3 July 2024 13:48
At the upcoming NATO summit on 9 July, Ukraine will be told that it is currently too corrupt to join the Alliance. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" reports with reference to The Telegraph.
The newspaper believes that this will be a serious blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who insists on Ukraine’s rapid accession to NATO after the war to protect it from future invasions.
A senior US State Department official said that NATO will require “additional steps” from Kyiv before membership talks can move forward. This position will be put in writing in a NATO communique to be signed at the Alliance’s annual summit.
“We have to recognise all that Ukraine has done in terms of reforms over the past two-plus years. But as we continue these reforms, we want to commend them and discuss additional steps that need to be taken, especially in the fight against corruption. This is a priority for many of us at the negotiating table,”
– the official told the newspaper.
Corruption has reportedly become a stumbling block in recent talks between NATO member states over whether to offer Ukraine a specific timetable for joining the Western military alliance. Earlier, The Telegraph reported that the United States is blocking efforts by the UK and Europe to put in writing an “irreversible” path to NATO membership for Ukraine.
At the summit, the allies are expected to offer Ukraine additional air defence systems to meet its growing needs, including the US Patriot.
“Festival of security agreements”
Since Ukraine is not expected to join NATO, the “Festival of Security Agreements with Ukraine” is gaining momentum, with Western countries guaranteeing our security under bilateral agreements such as the Budapest Memorandum.
Ukraine has already signed 20 such agreements with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Japan, the United States, the European Union, Estonia and Lithuania.
Under these agreements, these states pledge to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian threat with finance, weapons and humanitarian aid.
Poland may be among the next signatories, as it is known that the government is negotiating with this country.
