From support to accession: Ukraine's Defence Minister explains what he expects from upcoming NATO summit
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, hopes that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Vilnius this July will bring clarity to Ukraine’s membership prospects, and outline further military support that will help put an end to the war with Russia.
Source: European Pravda, with reference to Voice of America; Reznikov in a video address to Atlantic Council participants on Friday, 5 May
Details: Reznikov told the Atlantic Council participants about seven points that, in his opinion, should be included in the final declaration that will be produced during the NATO Summit in Vilnius. He put particular emphasis on a clearer membership perspective for Ukraine.
"The Alliance has to offer Ukraine a clear membership pathway," Ukraine’s Defence Minister believes. He also thinks NATO should offer security guarantees to Ukraine prior to its accession to the Alliance.
Reznikov also expects that NATO leaders will support the Peace Formula that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented during the G20 summit in November 2022.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister also expects NATO to continue its commitment to meeting Ukraine’s urgent defence needs, including air defence, long-range artillery, ammunition, tanks and combat aircraft, and to maintain this support until Ukraine’s sovereignty is fully restored.
Reznikov hopes that the NATO summit will adopt a mechanism for crisis consultations with Ukraine under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty and change the Ukraine-NATO Council format from 31+1, as currently envisaged by the Ukraine-NATO Commission, to 32.
Background: Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said that NATO members should issue a "clear written statement" "laying out a path to accession" for Ukraine, and listed a number of arguments why Ukraine’s membership would benefit both his country and the Alliance.
The German Press Agency earlier reported that some NATO member states, including Germany and the US, do not currently want any concrete decisions to be made on Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance.
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