Stoltenberg: NATO members will accept Ukraine into the Alliance, and told what is already being done for this
Kyiv • UNN
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO allies agree that Ukraine should become a member of the Alliance, but this will only be possible after the war is over and with guarantees that Russia will not attack again.
The Allies agree that Ukraine should become a NATO member and are doing everything to bring it closer. Stoltenberg said this during a press conference following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, UNN reports.
Allies agree that Ukraine will become a member. All Allies agree that we need to continue to bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership.
Details
The NATO Secretary General noted that a number of important decisions were made last year and the Alliance is implementing them.
Now we are implementing them by abolishing the Membership Action Plan, we should not introduce something like some kind of a second or two-step process. I think it's very important to maintain a one-step process for Ukraine to become a member by abolishing the requirement for a Membership Action Plan and then making sure that when the invitation comes, it's the same as becoming a member, just like in NATO. This is the difference between NATO and the European Union.
Despite the technicalities, there is a clear commitment among NATO politicians that Ukraine should become a member. However, he noted that this will be possible only when the war is finally over.
There is a clear commitment to help Ukraine move closer to membership. And I think we also have to realize that when this war is over, and everyone realizes that there must be some guarantees that it is really over, that this is not a pause where Russia recovers its strength, rests and then regroups to attack again. Because we saw a similar picture back in 2014. ... So, of course, when this war is over, we have to be absolutely sure that it is really over, that it will end there. So we have to help Ukraine build its own defense to deter any further Russian aggression. But there will always be a need for security guarantees, and of course the ultimate security guarantee will be Article 5 and NATO membership.
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NATO ministers agreed on Wednesday to start planning for long-term military support for Ukraine, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's proposal to do so through a five-year, 100 billion euro ($107 billion) fund drew mixed reactions from member states
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