Stefanchuk, Rutte discuss Ukraine's path to NATO membership
Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have discussed Ukraine's defense needs and the country's path to full membership in the military alliance.
Stefanchuk announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
"I welcome the newly appointed Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, to the Ukrainian parliament. The decision to make the first foreign visit as the Alliance's Secretary General to Ukraine clearly indicates his priorities," he said.
Stefanchuk thanked Rutte for the support already provided to Ukraine, for the F-16s "and for the principled position in terms of the need to punish Russia for all the crimes it committed in Ukraine, including for the downing of the passenger plane flight MH17."
During the meeting, both parties discussed Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.
Stefanchuk noted that today the Ukrainian army is a de facto NATO army, because the Ukrainian Armed Forces fight with NATO weapons and according to NATO standards and protect NATO's eastern flank from Russia.
"Membership in the Alliance is Ukraine's indisputable goal. I expect that under Mark Rutte's mandate de facto will turn into de jure," Stefanchuk said.
He said that Ukraine was well aware that a key element on the road to NATO membership was the implementation of the necessary reforms, so he drew Rutte's attention to the development and adoption of laws set to bring Ukraine closer to membership in the Alliance.
"The main thing I paid attention to was the further defensive support of the allies. Our needs include the need for permission to use the weapons received from partners in full, including for strikes against military targets inside Russia," Stefanchuk said.
At the same time, it is necessary to create a "humanitarian shield" of air defense under the control of individual NATO members along Ukraine's western border.
Supplying modern fighter jets and providing more training courses for F-16 pilots should also be a priority, Stefanchuk said.
"Special attention should be paid to the need to bolster Ukrainian air defenses," he added.
Photo credit: Ruslan Stefanchuk / Facebook