At NATO summit, Ukraine achieves "everything that could be achieved" - deputy foreign minister
Ukraine cannot be completely satisfied with the outcome of the NATO anniversary summit, despite the important strategic decisions made in Washington.
This was stated by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yevhen Perebiynis, who spoke at a round table, hosted by Ukrinform, on the topic "Transatlantic unity and Ukraine: NATO's strategic vision at the 2024 Washington Summit."
"I think we can safely assess the results of the summit as a success... from the point of view of what strategic decisions were discussed there and what strategic plans were adopted. I think the main thing was that the summit demonstrated unity of the allies in the issue of designating the biggest threats to the Euro-Atlantic space and the main adversary, which is Russia, in terms of mobilizing the Alliance in terms of how it will address this threat. And the most important thing, it seems to me, is the awareness and recognition that the main developments surrounding the repelling of these threats will take place in Ukraine in the near future," said Perebiynis.
In this context, the diplomat recalled that the Alliance made important strategic decisions that it should provide Ukraine with "all possible help and support so that Ukraine not only prevails in the war, but that we ensure that never again either Russia or any other dictatorship even thinks that something like this could be unleashed."
Noting the strategic importance of the summit, the deputy minister noted at the same time that "we cannot be satisfied with the results of any NATO summits where a decision is not made to extend an invitation to Ukraine."
"I think everyone will agree that Ukraine, first of all, deserved such a step from all points of view, primarily from the point of view that today it is an umbrella for NATO from the main enemy of the Alliance... Undoubtedly, not only Ukraine will benefit from its accession to NATO in terms of security, but NATO will also become stronger and safer in case of Ukraine's accession," the diplomat emphasized.
He stated that one of the reasons for the lack of such a decision is that some NATO member states are wary of Russia's response, afraid of escalation, and not willing to be drawn into the war.
"We understand this, we are aware of this, we respect this decision, but, nevertheless, we cannot agree with the fact that the decision to extend an invitation to Ukraine has not been adopted," said the deputy minister.
According to the official, under these conditions, Ukraine achieved "everything that could be achieved".
"We had known in advance from our allies that such a solution would not come at this summit, despite the fact that we maintained our level of ambition in the negotiations until the last day of preparations for the summit... Therefore, we focused with our allies on solutions that can yield a practical result, which should strengthen Ukraine's position in NATO, bring Ukraine closer to NATO, and strengthen our interoperability with the Alliance," Perebyinis summarized.
As reported, the 75th anniversary NATO summit was held in Washington last week. The parties considered increasing military aid to Ukraine and strengthening the deterrence and defense system of the Alliance itself.