Arseniy Yatsenyuk: We long for the unity of the US and Europe, but not at our expense

“Berlin and Paris want to pretend that Russia is a normal country. They suggested inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to an EU summit for the first time since Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014. Voiced after the summits of the Group of Seven, NATO, the United States, and the European Union, as well as President Biden’s first foreign tour, this suggestion leaves Ukrainians outraged,” he wrote.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that many in the West say they want to resolve “the Ukraine issue”. But they “do not wish to provoke or alienate Russia”.

People’s Front Party Leader suggested to imagine that there is no “Ukrainian issue.” “More precisely, imagine there was no Ukraine. Imagine there were no Georgia or Moldova, and the democratic revolutions that swept Georgia, Ukraine, and now Belarus never took place,” he wrote.

“Without these significant national movements for independence and democracy, there would no doubt be a renewed Soviet Union occupying our lands and nations and repeating the history of the 20th century. One could assume that some Mr. Putin or a similar ex-KGB type hardliner would lead in such a renewed empire. On our lands, they would have retained Soviet nuclear weapons, the third largest arsenal in the world. In addition, new Russian weapons aimed at the West would also be installed here,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed.

Moreover, there would be no independence of the Baltic nations. “Neither Poland nor the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, let alone the Balkans, would be members of the EU and NATO. Instead, in these states, Moscow-aligned political forces would be effective in rebuilding a Soviet-style political architecture,” he wrote.

“Would Europe be safe? Decidedly not,” People’s Front Party Leader stressed.

“The West must do everything possible and more to integrate Ukraine and other countries in our region into a United Europe, and therefore into NATO and the EU,” he stated: “The historical moment demands nothing less than full-throated support for Ukraine’s membership to NATO. The West has no right to put Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and, in the future, a free Belarus, on ice. We deserve and demand better.”

“We must be allowed to finally walk through the invisible barriers and proverbial Open Doors,” he added.

The EU concept of “push back, constrain and engage” Russia won’t work, Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed: “As soon as you invite the Kremlin to the EU table, be ready to engage with its new attempts to divide and conquer”.

“We long for the unity of the United States and Europe — but not at our expense. It will cost too much for everyone,” he wrote.