Ukraine's Ambassador to UK Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine will never join NATO

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, has said he does not believe Ukraine will ever become a NATO member and argued that the country should instead focus on developing other security alliances.

Source: Zaluzhnyi during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at today's meeting of ambassadors in Kyiv, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zaluzhnyi made his remarks during a discussion among senior diplomats on Euro-Atlantic integration. Although he had been asked to comment on Ukraine's participation in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), he began his remarks by speaking about NATO.

Quote: "I know NATO very well. For about 12 years, I personally worked to ensure that we adopted NATO standards, and every year I listened to fairy tales that we were just about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join it!"

Details: Zaluzhnyi argued that one obstacle to Ukraine's accession is that "it is impossible to join an organisation that is guided by World War II doctrines in light of the current capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces…".

He also criticised NATO's overall capabilities despite the membership of countries such as the UK and the US. "Most likely, NATO will remain in its current form and will spend another 12 years, just as Ukraine did, transitioning to the standards required to reach even half of the Russian Federation's level," the ambassador said.

Meanwhile, Zaluzhnyi acknowledged that "Ukraine needs technologies currently available in NATO countries", including in the fields of anti-ballistic defence, space capabilities and so on.

Speaking about future security guarantees for Ukraine, he argued that alliances other than NATO could prove more effective: "Ukraine will align itself with blocs and alliances that are likely to emerge. Most probably, we will be talking about a European military security bloc." He also described membership of the JEF as an effective security mechanism. "Since 2015, the JEF has had command-and-control structures in place. Yes, they are still weak, yes, they are not yet at the level we need," Zaluzhnyi said, expressing regret that Ukraine is not working towards joining the JEF.

It is worth noting that the JEF does not currently include collective defence mechanisms or mutual defence obligations among its members.

Background:

• Earlier, the 10 member states of the JEF signed a memorandum of intent to establish a multinational maritime force that would serve as a complement to NATO.
• Ukraine has already joined the agreement on enhanced partnership with the JEF.