Klimkin advises not to tie expectations for Ukraine's invitation to NATO to summits
Former Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin is optimistic about Ukraine's membership in NATO, but does not believe that the Washington summit will decide to invite Ukraine to join the Alliance.
The diplomat said this in a speech at the international scientific and expert conference 'Challenges for Ukraine and the Future of the Russian Empire', an Ukrinform correspondent reported.
The former foreign minister said that, in his opinion, there is no alternative to Ukraine's membership in NATO as the basis of our security today. In his opinion, all other options for ensuring our country's security may be "forced interim temporary realities." At the same time, he advises not to pin high hopes on Ukraine's invitation to join the Alliance at the summit in Washington.
"I am skeptical about the Washington NATO summit and its results, but I am optimistic about the future membership (of Ukraine - ed.) in NATO. I am generally against being tied to summits, as we were tied to expectations from the Vilnius summit, and now we are thinking about Washington," Klimkin said.
According to the former minister, due to a number of factors, the Washington summit is not "the best time, the best reality and the best point" for us to move forward with NATO membership.
"Perhaps this point will be earlier, perhaps later, but I propose not to have endless discussions about summits. For some reason, we think that summits solve something in life. In my experience, summits are just something where everyone gathers, takes pictures, signs or doesn't sign some declarations, and then leaves. That is, summits are not about making decisions," the diplomat said.
As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized during a meeting with heads of foreign diplomatic missions that Ukraine should already be preparing for the North Atlantic Alliance summit in Washington, D.C., which will be held next year.