NATO-Ukraine Council to be instrument of integration, not partnership – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is confident that the NATO-Ukraine Council will be an instrument of Ukraine's integration into the Alliance.
Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram
Quote: "We all need certainty, including institutional certainty. And it is very good that the NATO-Ukraine Council can truly give us the necessary institutional certainty. It is important for us that the NATO-Ukraine Council will be an instrument of integration, not just partnership."
Details: Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine needs efficient security guarantees while on its way to NATO membership, and such a package of guarantees exists: it is only necessary to support it and adhere to it.
The president also emphasised that Ukraine does not need a NATO Membership Action Plan, and "this is fair".
Quote: "I would also like to draw attention to the wording regarding the ‘conditions’ that we must meet in order to receive an invitation to join NATO. The vast majority of our people expect specific details concerning these conditions. We perceive them as security conditions. We understand that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO while the war is ongoing. But then it will be our common strength when Ukraine joins the Alliance."
Background: On 11 July, the NATO Summit in Vilnius adopted a three-part package of decisions on Ukraine, including those related to Ukraine's path to membership:
- A new multi-year support programme for Ukraine that will enable the transition from Soviet to NATO standards of training and doctrine.
- Establishment of a NATO-Ukraine Council, which, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, will be a forum for consultation and decision-making where the parties "meet as equals".
- Removal of the requirement for a NATO Membership Action Plan, which will shorten Ukraine's path from a two-step to a one-step process.
Stoltenberg said Ukraine will be invited to join NATO when the allies agree and certain conditions are met.
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