Igor Zhovkva, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, has said that Ukraine has agreed to abandon its ambition of joining NATO and would take no further efforts to join the US-led military alliance.
NATO leaders will gather in Madrid (Spain) next week. During two days of talks and consultations, the alliance will release a Strategic Concept – a document detailing the alliance’s objectives and posture toward non-member countries such as China and Russia.
In an interview with the Financial Times on June 25, Zhovkva stated that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government wants the coalition to recognize Ukraine as “the cornerstone of European security” and reaffirm its alliance with Kiev.
The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will meet next week in Madrid (Spain). During two days of talks and consultations, the alliance will release a Strategic Concept, which will outline the alliance’s objective and posture toward non-member countries such as China and Russia.
In an interview with the Financial Times on June 25, Zhovkva stated that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration wants the alliance to acknowledge Ukraine as “the cornerstone of European security” and reaffirm its collaboration with Kiev.
He did, however, state that Ukraine will not seek NATO membership.
“NATO members have turned down our plea. We will take no further action in this regard “Mr. Zhovkva stated
Previously, one of the key reasons for the confrontation with Russia was Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. Despite Moscow’s warnings that the installation of NATO personnel and weaponry on Russia’s borders would pose an unacceptable security danger, Ukraine has enshrined its aspiration to become a NATO member in its 2019 constitution.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previously stated that the alliance’s membership will remain open to interested countries, but he did not pledge or rule out Ukraine’s admission in the foreseeable future.
NATO’s official position, according to the Bucharest Declaration of 2008, is that Georgia and Ukraine “will become alliance members” at an undefined future date.
Since 2010, the NATO Strategic Concept has not been updated. The memo claimed at the time that the alliance desired “a true strategic cooperation” with Russia.
Zhovkva, on the other hand, wants NATO to discontinue mentioning Russia as a possible partner in an upcoming update.
“We eagerly await the NATO Strategic Concept. “There will be more severe warnings against Russia,” Zhovkva added, urging the alliance to “do not be afraid to include anti-Russian terminology in the declaration.””
Furthermore, Zhovkva wants the Ukraine crisis to be mentioned in the strategy plan since “it is not enough to simply strike out the word “partner” with Russia.”
Alexey Arestovich, an adviser to Ukraine’s President, has stated that NATO’s vow to assist Kiev in winning is more essential than being officially recognized as a member of the alliance.
Arestovich admits to having reservations about NATO and the European Union (EU) accepting Ukraine. But that is no longer relevant.
According to Mr. Arestovich, Ukraine is already a member of NATO. Although there is no joint defense commitment like NATO’s Article 5, Arestovich highlighted that more than 50 countries in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (headed by the US) have guaranteed Ukraine’s Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov that they will “never” allow Kiev to lose the battle.
Arestovich said that the statement “will undoubtedly lead us to the top” and “place the cherry on top of the cake” (making a good thing even better – PV).
