Largest European Parliament political group endorses invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at summit in Vilnius
On Tuesday 9 May, the European People's Party (EPP), which is the largest political group of the European Parliament, adopted a position paper, in which it supported Ukraine's invitation to the North Atlantic Alliance at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.
Source: This was revealed in the decision of the EPP group in the European Parliament, which is at the disposal of European Pravda
Details: The European People’s Party emphasises that previous security decisions for Ukraine, from the Budapest Memorandum to the conclusions of the NATO Summit in Bucharest, did not prevent a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and its constant presence in the "grey zone" will only encourage Russia to repeat aggression in the future.
The authors of the position paper also believe that Ukraine's membership in the Alliance is necessary, as it will strengthen NATO forces with the integration of the Ukrainian army, unite the West around the goal of guaranteeing peace in Europe and prevent Russian revanchism.
Quote: "An invitation for Ukraine to become a member of NATO would be the most powerful signal for Putin and the fiercest imperial hawks in Russia to finally understand that Ukraine is no longer within their reach," the European People's Party asserted.
The group also believes that Kyiv's membership in the Alliance will encourage Russia to internal transformations, since it will no longer be able to "succumb to imperial nostalgia again." "That is why the Russian opposition is not against Ukraine choosing its own path," they say.
In summary, the EPP calls on the participants of the NATO Summit in Vilnius to consider further steps regarding the prospect of Ukraine's membership in the Alliance.
"The EPP expects that future summits in Vilnius and Washington will pave the way for granting Ukraine an invitation to join NATO and that the accession process will begin after the end of the war and will be completed as soon as possible. This will strengthen our Alliance and will be another step towards sustainable peace in Europe," the document states.
In April, NATO Secretary General said that at the July summit in Vilnius, the member countries of the Alliance are preparing to discuss the issue of Ukraine's membership and security guarantees for it, but the main issue remains to ensure Ukraine's victory in the war.
Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister of Ukraine, noted that Ukraine will not be satisfied with any other decision of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, except for real steps regarding its membership in the Alliance.
Read also: Ukraine's NATO Membership Needs no Action Plan, We Have to Leave 2008 Mistakes Behind
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