Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia call for security guarantees for Ukraine even before NATO membership
NATO should outline a clear path to Ukraine's membership when the appropriate conditions are met. Before that, they should be ready to provide security guarantees that will once and for all remove the grey zone status from Ukraine.
Source: article of the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia: Mateusz Morawiecki, Petr Fiala, Eduard Heger; in the magazine Foreign Affairs, reports European Pravda.
The prime ministers believe it is not too early to plan post-war guarantees for Ukraine's security because "there will be no investment and sustainable reconstruction in Ukraine unless it is able to defend itself against future aggression".
In their opinion, at the upcoming summit in Vilnius, NATO will have to answer difficult yet unavoidable questions about the alliance’s future, including its relationship with Ukraine and its future strategy on Russia.
The prime ministers recall that in 2008, the allies decided that Ukraine’s future (along with Georgia’s) should involve membership in NATO.
"Now is the time for the alliance to lay out a clear and credible path for Ukraine’s membership, if and when Kyiv wishes and when conditions allow. And until then, we must be ready to provide security guarantees, beyond political assurances, that prevent Ukraine from becoming a grey zone once and for all."
According to the heads of the three governments, grey zones create opportunities for authoritarian regimes to sow instability and heighten tensions.
As reported, during the visit of Kaja Kalla, Estonian Prime Minister, to Zhytomyr, Estonia and Ukraine agreed to coordinate joint actions to guarantee the security of Ukraine on the way to NATO membership.
Background: Last week, during NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv expects the adoption of a package of security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to membership in the Alliance from the NATO summit in Vilnius.
Read also: Ukraine's NATO Membership Needs no Action Plan, We Have to Leave 2008 Mistakes Behind.
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