NATO membership should be main guarantee for Ukraine - Yermak

Ukraine needs security guarantees on its path to NATO membership, because the main guarantee for the country is membership in the military alliance.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with the Voice of America, according to Ukrinform.

"Regarding security guarantees. You know that President Zelensky started talking about it many months ago, that we need security guarantees on the path to our membership in NATO. Because the main guarantee is NATO membership. NATO is the world's strongest alliance today. Everyone admits it. And I am sure that it will be like that," he said.

According to Yermak, the Kyiv Security Compact takes into account the entire situation, possible guarantees that Ukraine can receive, and explains why the guarantees are as they are.

"We are not talking about [NATO's] Article 5 until we become members of NATO. That is, these are absolutely realistic guarantees," he added.

Yermak noted that Ukraine sees security guarantees on the way to its membership in NATO, which may happen if the security situation allows.

"But there is no alternative to this. We see ourselves as NATO members," he said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier said on the sidelines of the 2023 Brussels Forum that the best security guarantee for Ukraine could be membership in NATO, but this is not possible during a war, as NATO allies do not have a consensus on this issue.