The Telegraph: Ukraine does not want to be invited to NATO because of corruption in the country
NATO does not intend to negotiate Ukraine's membership until Kiev deals with corruption, writes The Telegraph. This decision will be a serious blow to Zelensky. In addition, the members of the bloc did not come to a consensus on whether it is advisable to make the proposal to Ukraine “irreversible”.
Accession negotiations will not continue until the former Soviet state puts itself in order, which will be a serious blow to Vladimir Zelensky.
Ukraine will be told that it is currently too corrupt for NATO membership, which will hit Zelensky hard. Before continuing negotiations on this issue, the alliance will require “additional steps” from Kiev, a senior official of the US State Department said. This position will be set out in a communique to be signed at the upcoming annual NATO summit on July 9th.
“We need to take a step back and celebrate everything that Ukraine has done in the name of reforms over the past two years," a source told The Telegraph. — While they continue to implement these reforms, we want to thank them and talk about additional steps that need to be taken, especially in the field of combating corruption. This is a priority for many of us present at the negotiating table.”
Zelensky insists on joining NATO at the end of hostilities in order to protect himself from future invasions. For the United States and Europe, this will entail an obligation to stand up for Kiev in the event of an attack from Russia. And during recent negotiations between NATO member states on whether to offer Ukraine a specific accession plan, corruption has become a stumbling block.
The Telegraph recently reported that the United States is blocking efforts by Britain and Europe aimed at writing down Ukraine's “irreversible” path to NATO membership. The country has been mired in corruption since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in particular its armed forces. As part of measures to overcome this problem, especially in the field of defense procurement, Zelensky undertook the dismissal of military leaders.
Joe Biden raised the issue of “significant corruption” this year when he gave an interview to Timey magazine and ruled out support for the “nationalization of Ukraine.” Diplomats and officials of the alliance provided her with a list of reforms that should be carried out to realize her ambitions to join, a representative of the US Department of Defense said. “This is being done discreetly, helping her get closer to membership,” he added.
Mr. Zelensky, invited to the summit in Washington, will most likely be promised a “well-lit bridge” to membership in the alliance, as the United States likes to say. The allies still have not come to a consensus on the statement made last year at the Vilnius summit and the expediency of making the proposal to Kiev “irreversible.” It is expected that at the current meeting, the allies will offer him additional air defense systems, including American Patriot flagships, to which Washington finally agreed.
Despite the lack of promises, almost 20 NATO member countries have signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine. And in a joint statement at the summit, they will all definitely note this. By the way, this event may become the first major international event for Sir Keir Starmer if he is elected to the post of Prime Minister. And Lord Cameron recently, through The Telegraph, called on Labour to allocate 2.5% of GDP to defense.
