"A lot has changed since Vilnius summit" – Deputy PM for Eurointegration on Ukraine's NATO accession

Ukraine has noted positive changes related to its NATO accession since the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

Source: Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, in an interview for Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Ukraine’s NATO accession is not a reality yet. I cannot say when it will happen.

But I feel much calmer now than before the Vilnius Summit. A lot has changed since Vilnius. Basically, we are at Sweden and Finland’s level of interaction with the Alliance.

NATO is now thinking about what Ukraine will contribute to the security sector and collective security. We have been going in this direction for years. This is a huge change."

Details: At the same time, Stefanishyna said some NATO leaders are "still not ready to take personal historical responsibility".

Background:

• The decisions made at the Vilnius Summit contain quite positive wording concerning Ukraine. Specifically, the NATO Summit agreed to cancel the requirement for a Membership Action Plan for Ukraine on its way to the Alliance. At the same time, the allies made it clear that Ukraine would be invited to join NATO "when the conditions are met".
• The Summit’s decision does not contain a list of conditions Ukraine must fulfil but defines the mechanism for their assessment. The Annual National Programme (ANP) will be the tool used for monitoring the reforms Ukraine implements. This tool is already at Ukraine’s disposal.

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