Ukraine will never agree to NATO membership alternatives – Ukraine's Foreign Minister

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said that Ukraine would be satisfied with any security and protection model as long as it is not positioned as an alternative to its NATO membership.

Source: Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with Radio Liberty

Quote from Kuleba: "We don’t need another Budapest Memorandum, when we surrendered nuclear weapons in exchange for empty promises. We will not give up NATO membership. Because everyone understands – and all of our partners understand – that Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance is the most robust guarantee that there will not be another war in Europe.

All other security guarantees are fine. But there is no alternative to NATO membership. This is the [Ukrainian] president’s firm position, and it will be enacted through the decisions that are being taken."

Details: Kuleba made this statement after being asked whether Ukraine would accept security guarantees modelled on the ones given to Israel. Israel is the US’s most stable partner in the Middle East; 10-year agreements outline the US commitments to the country, under the latest of which the US is to supply US$38 billion of aid in 2019-2028.

Kuleba added that Ukraine has to implement the Vilnius summit decisions so as to accelerate its Euro-Atlantic integration: "Plan A is Ukraine’s NATO membership. The question is, how do we get there as quickly as possible?"

He said that after the Vilnius summit, Ukraine’s path to NATO membership has become shorter, but not quicker.

Quote from Kuleba: "We don’t need a Plan B. Ukraine toyed with those things years ago. We need NATO membership. Ukraine’s NATO membership will strengthen the Alliance, make our country more protected, and, crucially, will prevent new aggressions in Europe."

Details: Kuleba stressed that Ukraine’s NATO membership is an inevitable historical process: "The issue is, some people want this to happen in many years, but we want it to happen much, much faster. In the end, I think, we will prevail."

When asked whether Ukraine’s allies and their intelligence services understand when the war might end, Kuleba said that "if we looked at Ukraine’s NATO membership less from Moscow’s perspective, my answer today would be different."

He noted that no one can say when the war will end: "This is not what everyone should be talking about. Everyone should be asking themselves a totally different question: What else can I do for this war to end with Ukraine’s victory as soon as possible? In this respect, the [Vilnius] summit has been and will be a success."

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