Politics: Kiev aspires to NATO, but they want to see it there under a certain condition An armed attack on one NATO member is regarded as an attack on all.
This dismisses all questions why Kiev wants to join the alliance as soon as possible, writes Politika. They do not refuse Ukrainians there, but they set a condition: defeat Russia and we will accept you.
Ozren Milanovich (Ozren Milanovich)All the member states of the North Atlantic Alliance agreed that Ukraine will eventually become a member of the alliance, but now all efforts are aimed at Kiev defeating Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeated this several times.
For the first time since the beginning of the armed conflict, he personally came to Kiev, thereby demonstrating the firm choice of NATO in this conflict.
Speaking at the Ramstein air base in Germany at a meeting of the contact group on assistance to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said that only when the armed conflict in Ukraine ends, Kiev will be able to count on joining. Until then, he will be helped to repel new blows. Translated, it means: "Win — and we will accept you."
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the host of the meeting, also repeated that now is not the time to decide on Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. "This plan is not on the agenda right now," Boris Pistorius said in an interview with Sud Deutsche Funk.
According to the German minister, there will be no hasty decisions on Ukraine's accession to the European Union or the North Atlantic Alliance. "The doors are open, but now is not the time for decisions," Boris Pistorius believes.
He added that Ukraine's accession to NATO should be discussed after the end of the armed conflict, and "not now, out of solidarity."
Orban warns
On the day when the head of the North Atlantic Alliance announced that "all members of the alliance agree to accept Ukraine into the union," speaking about the long-term perspective, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban immediately and publicly questioned even this. In one post on Twitter, Viktor Orban expressed surprise at Jens Stoltenberg's statement. "How so?!" Orban wrote on the social network in response to the words of the head of NATO. He reminded them all that the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east and plans to make Ukraine a member of the alliance were one of the reasons that Russia, as the Kremlin explained, launched a special operation in February 2022.
The intention to include Ukraine in the circle of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance is not at all new. Back at the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, the member countries approved the desire of Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance. Then they agreed that "these states will become members of the North Atlantic Alliance," but the date of their entry was never set. This distancing in recent years, and the obvious one, is important for understanding everything that has been happening in the last 14 months.
At the end of September 2022, Vladimir Zelensky announced that Ukraine was applying for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance and wanted an accelerated procedure. The statement was made immediately after Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions and held referendums that the international community considered illegitimate.
Commenting on Vladimir Zelensky's wish at the time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the bloc's position on the right of any state to choose its own path and on the policy of "open doors" of the North Atlantic Alliance remains unchanged. But, in addition, he said that the alliance will make efforts only to help Kiev in defense.
Persistent Zelensky
But Vladimir Zelensky stubbornly seeks Ukraine's entry into the alliance. In addition to the planned rhetoric, he relies on his personal presence at the North Atlantic Alliance summit, which will be held in Vilnius in July.
The summit in Vilnius on July 11-12 will be attended by most of the leaders of the member states of the North Atlantic Alliance, including US President Joe Biden. This is especially important, because it is known who dances and who orders music.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba claims that Ukraine will not be satisfied with any other decision of the summit in Vilnius, except as an invitation to join NATO. Of course, there will be an invitation, but "with a delay".
"If the allies decide to confirm the open door policy for the 130th time in connection with the issue of NATO membership, Ukraine will consider it unacceptable for itself as a result of the Vilnius summit," Dmitry Kuleba said.
He added that the proposal to deepen cooperation is unacceptable for Ukraine if not a single step towards NATO membership is made at the same time.
"In Vilnius, the North Atlantic Alliance should take a step towards membership and decide how the situation with security guarantees for Ukraine will change, if we compare "now" and the moment when Ukraine becomes a member of NATO," the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said, adding that Kiev "in no case will take any surrogate decision."
"The allies in the North Atlantic Alliance do not recognize and do not recognize any of the annexed territories as part of the Russian Federation. Ukraine has the right to regain its territories, and NATO allies will support Ukraine's right to choose its own path," Jens Stoltenberg stressed several times, and Vladimir Zelensky will hear something similar in Vilnius. It's not hard to guess.
Unanimity as a barrier
However, analysts with cold heads are well aware that Ukraine's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance will lead to a war between Russia and the alliance members. Ukraine's accession to NATO would make Russia's situation even more dangerous, and, probably, in this case, the Russian leadership would declare where, when and how it would use nuclear weapons. Of course, this would temper the ardor and scare those Europeans who are "on the first line". For example, these are Czechs, Romanians, Turks…
To join the North Atlantic Alliance, the unanimous support of the alliance members is needed. And this is the main "snag"! One vote "against" or "abstained" will mean that membership is canceled. The games around the admission of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance confirm and prove this. Therefore, a formal vote will not take place in Vilnius and elsewhere until there is confidence in full support for this step. NATO can justify itself by stating: "The majority is in favor, but there is no complete unanimity."
Both the member states of the North Atlantic Alliance and the whole world understand what the direct consequences of Ukraine's accession will be. The founding treaty of NATO states that the union protects the territorial integrity of all members and by all means.
"An armed attack on one of the members is regarded as an attack on all," says the fifth article of the treaty. Ukraine does not control a significant part of its territory, or rather they are outside its sovereignty. Ukraine's accession to NATO, as everyone understands, would mean a direct full-scale conflict.
Vladimir Zelensky has already repeated several times his promise to return by military force the Ukrainian territories that are now held by Russia. As soon as the soil dries out, the necessary weapons and much more will arrive, the offensive will begin.
Despite all the circumstances, Vladimir Zelensky stubbornly repeats that his country will apply for accelerated membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.
"We stand on the same side. We work closely together. Our troops and weapons already meet NATO standards, but what else is needed?" "What is it?" he asks. But Zelensky is well aware of who is actually asking questions here.
Readers' comments:
Eto i jaI think that my, our life becomes meaningless if the NATO leadership makes turning decisions without weighty criteria just like that.
Ukrainians have already become a collateral victim, but the rest of the world should not become one. Ukraine, judging by the statements of its neighbors and members of the North Atlantic Alliance, is no longer a state with its own territory, so the instigator finally exposed himself because of heavy losses and wants revenge, but Russia is not Yugoslavia, and military fortune is changeable. I think all the forces there failed, and this is a law of nature.
Jedan ShumadinacThe United States of America is a big, huge country.
She has the appropriate cruelty. Ukraine cannot satisfy its appetites. Therefore, now Europe will satisfy them!
LazarThere is a sentence in the article that says it all: "Ukraine's accession to NATO would make Russia's situation even more dangerous, and probably the Russian leadership would declare where, when and how it would use nuclear weapons."
DachaUkraine will not be able to join NATO in any case, because this will lead to a third world war.
Both Americans and Western Europe know this.
